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A Bi-Monthly Newsletter of the Inner Outer Partnership |
| Volume VII Edition 2 |
March/April |
2002 |
Cause And Effect
Heart Transplants, Prisoners And The Right To Health Care
A California prison inmate got a heart transplant recently. The event
wouldn't be noteworthy except that the tab is likely to run up to one
million taxpayer's dollars. To those of us who believe that prisoners are
as human as anyone else perhaps a little more depending on how one looks at
it they have the same needs we do. True, they made a mistake, in this case
robbery, and we make them pay for it by putting them behind bars. But
their needs still exist and our taking away their freedom ought not to be
synonymous with taking away their humanity.
The fact that there are some 4000 people on the waiting list for a new
heart, and that there is an obvious shortage, has led many to ask why give
a transplant to a prisoner over someone we call a law abiding citizen? A
medical panel made the decision based on medical grounds from a list which
preserves the anonymity of potential recipients. A local news program host
even made the comment, "want a transplant, rob a bank".
We may think someone outside prison more deserving, but spiritually of course that may not be so. To know who is the more deserving we would have
to know the spiritual agenda of each individual and the way in which each
has met his or her challenges. We would also need to remember that for
some, strange as this may seem, the challenge of life is to meet death and
the struggle that reality entails. While we may not have access to the
spiritual data that would enable us to make a decision on spiritual terms,
neither do we have the right to assume that one is more worthy if one is
not in jail. Being non-judgmental is an increasingly shared value, one
more and more aspire to, and denying an incarcerated man a transplant on
the grounds that someone not in jail is worthier would not only be
judgmental, it risks turning us, or at least making us party to being,
unjust, callous and self righteous. When we take away someone's freedom, we
impose, control, restrict his or her life, actions and behavior. At what
point do we stop? At what point do we remember that prisoners too are part
of the divine body, and that non-judgmental love in all its forms and
venues will be key to helping them find their way back, to reconnect to the
spiritual link they might have forgotten?
It is truly sad that some on the waiting list may die for lack of
money or organs or for some other reason pointing to the inequities of our
imperfect society. But the problem is not whether or not to give a
transplant to a prisoner, it is how to have available affordable health
care. We need a system where all those who need it can have a heart
transplant. Meanwhile we would all benefit by honing our understanding of
compassion.
Israeli Reservists Protest An Oxymoron?
Israeli soldiers are known for their sanguine patriotism, one that
affects the whole country since women have long been treated as equals and
everyone serves in the army. After a mandatory 3 years of service,
Israeli soldiers become reservists serving a month each year and when
needed. Now comes a movement from within the ranks of reservists
questioning the army's handling of the Palestinian uprising. The reservists
say they have been asked to raze homes, stop ambulances from crossing thus
denying access to medical care, as well as destroy orchards, a means of
livelihood for Palestinians, all acts considered war crimes.
The protest began when someone answered a notice posting a phone number
and grew from there. How much it will continue to grow is not yet known.
What will happen to these people, what mark they will succeed in making, or
what punishment awaits them is not yet known either, or at least not at the
time of this writing. But the statement they are making will stand
regardless.
The army is of course denying that any illegal acts have been ordered.
Although an increasing number of Israelis agrees with the resisters, as
a whole the general public still sides with the army.
It is always impressive when a minority stands up to a majority, and it
is inspiring when that minority is on the side of right. Given that not so
long ago Jews were the victims of Nazi atrocities committed by soldiers who
said they were following orders, regardless of what happens in the future,
a small group standing up to what is right, for what their conscience
dictates and setting an example for others, deserves recognition and
praise.
Obesity A link To Gratitude
The surgeon general David Satcher has issued a report calling obesity
a public health problem and asking people to not only lose weight but be
mindful of not becoming obese.
Obesity, the reports reminds us, is linked to a number of illnesses
such as diabetes. It may worsen others, such as high blood pressure, and
increase the risk of certain diseases including cancer. One would think
such a report clear and straightforward. Instead it has drawn much
criticism from those who do not believe the government has a role in such
issues, from those who disagree that obesity is the national menace Satcher
purports it to be, as well as from a number of sources in between with
individual reasons or agendas.
While obesity is a condition which can be due to a disorder, the bulk of Satcher's admonitions revolved around common everyday overweight,
something an increasingly number of us suffer from. As such his
recommendation for each one of us to lose 10 pounds appears to make sense.
Weight loss is something over which we have control presumably in the same
way we had control over the weight gain in the first place. It is therefore
easy, as some have, to link the report to being judgmental, to encouraging
discrimination against those who are overweight.
But perhaps the most important issue of the report is not found in any of the articles that have addressed it, but in the idea of gratitude. We
live in a country where obesity has become a problem, when countries like
Sudan, Afghanistan or the Congo, among others, are teetering on the edge of
mass famine. There are inequities in the world and we are spared mainly
through the accident of where we were born. It's simple, no matter the
arguments pro or con, millions suffer as a result of hunger and we do
not.
Lest we fall prey to Marie Antoinette's reputed insensitivity, in her
now infamous let them eat cake, let us ponder our problem with obesity in
the light of gratitude.
Overpopulation A Threat?
The world population has been growing at the rate of 77 million people per year. To date, we are at more than 6.1 billion and already
seeing evidence of pressure being put on the planet's life support systems.
In parts of Africa and the Middle East, for example, fresh water scarcity
is a reality. Yet population control is not a matter of policy for the
United States or for many countries. The so called gag rule, begun in the
Reagan years, is back. This rule ties up money to ensure that family
planning and abortion counseling are not part of population programs,
mainly overseas but domestically as well. Given that around one-third of
the world is age 15 or less, overpopulation and its consequences on limited
resources is a problem with great implications for the future. Scarcities
are sure to increase. The problem with sufficient fresh water, for
instance, is a well-documented one.
If we are to exercise our responsibility not only to the planet we inhabit but to future generations a spiritual imperative we ought to face the
looming threat this represents: The planet will soon not be able to sustain
life for the billions who will inhabit it. Overpopulation is not a
problem well suited to sound bites and while population control programs in
the developing world could be one of the answers, those very programs are
being stopped, curtailed or held back because of the administration's
political and religious views. More importantly, our ignorance of both the
facts and the threat is adding to our jeopardy. Perhaps the nature and
complexity of the problem makes converts too slowly, which makes those of
us aware of it that much more responsible.
Web Site Of Interest: www. closertotruth.com
Science and Beyond
The site claims to bring together scientists, scholars, thinkers and artists. With the help of its five sections and the TV program of the same
name, as well as its other aids, such as audiotapes, it succeeds. The
program puts forth scientific ideas in an engaging and sometimes
provocative way. Each week a panel of experts discuss the implications,
consequences, applications and questions around a given topic. Transcripts
for most of the programs are available through the site. Thus if you go to
the Brain and Mind section and scroll to the topic Do Brains have Minds,
you'll be able to get a transcript. The other sections are Life and Health
where you can learn if sex has a future, Creativity and Thinking through
which you can think about why we make music and art, Technology and
Culture which will have the transcript of a program on how technology
transforms society and Earth and the Universe where among other topics,
the next breakthrough in science will be talked about.
Closer to truth is funded by the Kuhn Foundation, a foundation headed
by Dr. Robert Lawrence Kuhn, an investment banker interested in scientific
ideas who also moderates the TV show. Joining him in the venture are Dr.
Bruce Murray of Caltech and KOCE, the Orange County PBS station.
Although many of the programs date back to the year 2000 the topics
and commentaries are still instructive. And if you visit the site in the
near future you can provide your topic ideas for the 2002 series of
programs.
To Ponder On
The marvelous richness of human experience would lose something of
rewarding joy if there were no limitations to overcome. The hilltop hour
would not be half so wonderful if there were no dark valleys to traverse.
Helen Keller, quote used on the Christopher
Reeve Paralysis Foundation literature
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