Hwk 32

I would say there are a number of things that are nightmarish about our culture’s practices around illness and dying. As a country we have modernized in many ways, yet we haven’t really modernized our healthcare system. Living in a country where healthcare is not offered to all causes a number of problems for those without access to healthcare. I feel that this should definitely be considered nightmarish. No matter how different we might look, or how different are personalities may be, we are still all from the same species. I know I sound pretty cliché here, but we all know that this is a fact, and there is no way around it. While being well aware of this not much effort is being made. I think it’s scary to know that just because some people have a higher pay, they are able to afford health care and get better treatment. In the other hand, while other people who struggle to make enough to receive health care, not much medical attention is given to them.

Another nightmarish practice which is practiced in our culture is the reliability on complete strangers. When we become hurt or ill we automatically contact our caregivers; for many of us this would be our doctors. When we think of the word doctor we think of some magical person who will make it his/her full responsibility to cure us. But who is underneath this label “doctor”, do we really know who he/she is? Why are we so desperate to put our life in the hands of someone who we barely know of? Our society has made us create trust for stranger; personally I don’t think this is always a good thing.

After taking a part of this unit I realized that we are really selfish; even when it comes to situations which involve illness and death. We only care about what is best for us; not for the one who is suffering all the pain while being ill or in some cases near death. While visiting the ill and watching the documentary titled Near Death, I saw that no matter what condition the ill patient may be in, their close ones were always attempting to make all efforts for them to stay alive. I personally believe that this is pretty selfish of us; we never really seem to see what’s best for the individual who is suffering. The only question we have on mind is: “what will happen to us if they are dead?” But while we ask our self this question, do we ever try to think about what is best for the one we love? Shouldn’t we worry about what is best for them instead of what is best for us? Why are we so afraid of risking them to have a better chance by leaving us in this world? Has love made us all selfish?