Health Care Problems

And the Dance of Ethics and Social Responsibility

I was listening to Marianne Williamson today and she said that as mothers and fathers it is no longer acceptable to speak of ‘our’ children as only those children we gave birth to. If mother hyenas can do a great job of ensuring that their offspring get food before the males and other hyena’s, surely as humans we can do better? Yet we allow 17, 000 children to die of hunger each day...one every 5 seconds. It is no longer acceptable that we can be suffering an obesity epidemic when this is occurring. It is simply obscene that this is happening. Incomprehensible.

‘Our’ children are now the world’s children. What I do in my little world affects people I will never meet. The Maldives had nothing to do with global warming, yet they are drowning. Because of the actions of me and you and our lovely wealthy lifestyles. No, we didn’t intend for this to happen, but that doesn’t mean we can stick our heads in the sand that it is happening none-the-less and that you and I have contributed to this.

Several years ago I was Washington DC having coffee with a good friend, and I said to him, “I know the solution to the health care problems in the USA.” (and indeed in the rest of the developed world) He looked at me, waiting for some incredible revelation, or maybe he was looking at me with hard worn skepticism.

“Well it really is very simple. People need to stop eating so much food, eat healthy fresh food, and get exercise.”

Every study ever done has shown that maintaining a healthy weight, eating fresh, nutritious food and getting regular exercise will reduce our illnesses by up to 80%. Imagine that!

Imagine reducing the cost of the annual health care problems in your country by 80%? Everyone would have access to free health care. Heck, we could probably pay people a health care stimulus if the USA, the UK, Europe, Australia went on a collective health care program...kind of like the national Biggest Looser. ($2.2 trillion in 2007 was spent by the US government on health care. If someone said to you, here is $1.76 trillion if you get fit and healthy, would you do it? Would you do it if someone said here is $100,000?)

Sure, the fast food industries would have to re-calibrate, and the insurance companies would lose business (so sad), and the drug companies would have to invest their research on the illnesses that are not caused by bad eating and no exercise. Or maybe they could do some real good in the world and develop cures for some of the diseases that have been around forever. Like malaria. They would have to get creative, and become healthy themselves, instead of “greedy little caterpillars eating up all the leaves!” (Yes I am generalising, not all pharma companies are riding on the back of the devil called ‘outrageous profit at any price’.)

The point is, if we did eat less food and better food, and we did exercise, whole industries would change. And that is part of the very reason that no one seems to talk about this most logical and do-able solution. Because many of those industries are the ones that fund the politicians to get into office. “Here is a cheque for $50 million Mr. Future Senator. Oh, and by the way, that health care bill in the house, if it passes, it will kneecap us. Please take our money.” (The wonderful Arianna Huffington, in one of her recent posts talked about predictions for what comes next in the dotcom revolution, and one of her predictions was a truth app that would immediately give an update on any politicians funding. Who gave money to whom, how much, what industries did the money come from, etc. Total and immediate transparency and an opportunity for ethics and social responsibility to play its hand.)

I really find it so extraordinary that we sit and watch the endless debate about the health care problems, and then finally reach an agreement to rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic, followed by the incredible noise of people with their noses so seriously out of joint because of the re-arranged furniture and some tinkering, and no one talks about changing our health habits. How serious are people to solving the health care problems? From my observation, not very much. They are more interested in protecting their own piece of pie.

Why?? Why do we not talk about the most obvious and practical actions (and the most affordable) we can take to improve our health and turn around our health care problems.

Several reasons as I see it...and I am interested in yours...

*Because it is easier to pass the responsibility of our health onto the shoulders of someone else, like the doctor, the drug, the system. Heaven forbid that ‘I’ should be responsible for my own health. Heaven forbid that it should be up to me to get out of my chair and go move. I mean, exercise...that is just too hard! And eating fruit and vegetables, and whole grains, giving up my McDonalds and my soda’s and all the other empty calories. Life would be terrible. I would be so deprived. And it would be so hard.

Staying healthy is a choice. It requires commitment and consistent action. It requires becoming educated, which in our society, we can do for free. The libraries have books and access to the internet where all the information is available. The government provides good information for free, and in our area, outdoor equipment for exercise, free fitness programs etc. But no, this would all mean, once again, that I would have to be responsible for my own health!

*Because the amount of money invested in people not being healthy is so massive, and the powers behind these investments are working their butts off to protect their interests. If we find a solution to the health care problems then some very powerful people will lose their money machine. Well, they will if they refuse to adapt and change.

You can probably tell I am a bit passionate about this subject. Health is, and has been for a quarter of a century, my number one value. I invest huge amounts of time and energy into my health. I love the feeling of being healthy and vital, energised, fit.

Now I know I am blessed, and that some people do suffer legitimate debilitating diseases and dis-abilites that do not allow them the kind of opportunities I have. Yet for everyone one of those disabilities, for example, we can find people who do not let those issue stop them from living a full and healthy life, within the limitations of their circumstances. YouTube is full of inspirational examples of people who overcome their physical limitations and found pathways through their illnesses to live as healthy a life as possible. Through their own willingness to accept their circumstances they found a solution to their health care problems.

There are two main points to my little rant in this article on the health care problems we face in our modern society.

*We are no longer able to stick our heads in the sand and pretend that what happens in our neighbourhood will not affect our neighbours in other parts of the world. We are all one. Unavoidable. (Just look at the spread of swine flu etc)

*It is time we started to take personal responsibility (see this article written in 2001 to wide acclaim) back and be accountable. For our health, our communities, our actions, our thoughts. Yes this is a big deal. As we say when we are out running and things are getting hard and hurt...suck it up.

Both of these two points deserve further discussion.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this controversial topic.

I am sure my article may have caused some response...please do share.

*Drawing by John Kim, 10 years old, 4th grade, Centreville, VA, "Road to Health" under the Creative Commons.

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