My paper, as I have discussed before, relates to the healthcare issue as a human rights violation. I wanted to determine the arguments against universal healthcare and what our best options might be in such a sensitive issue. I think it is interesting that the Stop Snitching campaign was brought up to point out how choosing not to act in knowledge of the consequences relates to the train track dilemma. This is a point I brought up in my discussion as well. The government or anti-universal health care activists can deny that health care is a human right but in choosing not to treat sick people they are often sitting back and watching people suffer and even die. Maybe universal healthcare is not the answer, but one thing that is for certain is something needs to change with the healthcare industry. One used to consider America as the home of the free and the land of opportunity. It seems now that the cost of simply living is going up and seems like it will never come back down.
One article I read talked about how people’s health statuses are often determined by their personal choices which is true. However, there are also several diseases and disorders that are out of people’s control. People should not be punished because they are sick and by choosing not to treat these people is punishment for the victim of this healthcare crisis. The article also pointed out that for the government to allow healthcare to all people they would have to ban detrimental activities such as smoking, drinking, and unhealthy “junk” foods. I honestly feel like this does not sound like such a bad idea. The very people who put these items out on the market are aware of the side-effects, yet they don’t care. They attempt to make these things look as appetizing as possible and allow people to harm themselves. Maybe instead of promoting these harmful products, the government should spend more time, effort, and money to raise awareness about health and the importance of taking care of your body. I do not think it is necessary to ban any of these things because obviously that would never work in our society, but raising awareness and giving people a new perspective is worth a try in my opinion. The U.S. has a reputation now for high obesity rates, and we are falling further behind in education. I think based on these ideas alone we can see where we are headed and it is not a positive outlook.
I'm not very familiar with the details surrounding the health care issue, but it seems to me that people would receive care based on individual need. And, if not, we should create a healthcare system where that is true.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree that many personal choices impact a person's ability to be healthy. Banning things like smoking, drinking, or junk food would have absolutely no effect. You're right, people do know that those things are bad for them, yet people still do those things. Moreover, smoking, drinking, or being unhealthy can have an impact on the likelihood you will get a job, a reasonable insurance rate, etc. Unfortunately, we cannot convince everyone to treat their bodies well.
I completely agree with your point about better education about health and nutrition. I was surprised when, last year, I had to explain to a group of my peers basic nutritional facts such as the effects carbohydrates, saturated fats, and sodium on the body, as well as what foods will contain high amounts of any of these three things. I do not know if you are aware, but Congress recently (Thursday night before our first drafts were due) declared pizza as a vegetable (or rather, counts as a serving of vegetables.) This was after several lobbyists for various food industries were worried that pizzas would be removed from school lunches due to stricter nutritional requirements put on schools.
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