Shameless plug for a good cause

[scaeagles]

My mom died of lupus. She had a brain tumor taken out in 1970 when I was 2 and never really recovered. Medications galore, therapy, doctor appointments, specialists.....a lot of which with my dad unemployed.

Without going into the day to day hardships, there was 6 figures of medical debt incurred over those 14 years after the surgery until she died in 1984.

Somehow, I managed to go to school. Yes, I had scholarship money, but I worked two jobs as well as going to school.

How is any of this the responsibility of anyone? How is it that any of that should be paid for by anyone else?

Our situation may not have been the worst out there. But it sucked. We made it. There is always something worse out there than what anyone is experiencing at any given time, certainly. I honestly do not understand, however, why anyone thinkfs that their misfortune or genetic impariments or whatever is the responsibility of anyone else. It's just a concept completely foreign to me, and I've been through it.

[flippyshark]

Originally Posted by scaeagles

Our situation may not have been the worst out there. But it sucked. We made it. There is always something worse out there than what anyone is experiencing at any given time, certainly. I honestly do not understand, however, why anyone thinkfs that their misfortune or genetic impariments or whatever is the responsibility of anyone else. It's just a concept completely foreign to me, and I've been through it.

You have my admiration for sticking it out and making the best of a terrible situation. Still, I wouldn't wish the accompanying financial hardships on anyone.

While I understand that nobody's specific hardships should be your or anyone else's individual responsibility, am I wrong to think that it is good for society as a whole to voluntarily (important emphasis) try to alleviate suffering?

There are other angles to consider, too. Can we bring the cost of healthcare down? Can we institute reforms to the system so that doctors aren't burdened with legal costs, but patients have suficient redress for malpractice? I don't have much, or really any, confidence in government or the private sector to solve these problems. Still, "tough it out and remember that there are others worse off than you" is small comfort. (Though, admittedly, it's the system I'm currently on.) I don't want handouts, but I would like to be able to afford to take care of myself, and that isn't a realistic expectation right now. Seems like it should be.

[Strangler Lewis]

Originally Posted by scaeagles

My mom died of lupus. She had a brain tumor taken out in 1970 when I was 2 and never really recovered. Medications galore, therapy, doctor appointments, specialists.....a lot of which with my dad unemployed.

Without going into the day to day hardships, there was 6 figures of medical debt incurred over those 14 years after the surgery until she died in 1984.

Somehow, I managed to go to school. Yes, I had scholarship money, but I worked two jobs as well as going to school.

How is any of this the responsibility of anyone? How is it that any of that should be paid for by anyone else?

Our situation may not have been the worst out there. But it sucked. We made it. There is always something worse out there than what anyone is experiencing at any given time, certainly. I honestly do not understand, however, why anyone thinkfs that their misfortune or genetic impariments or whatever is the responsibility of anyone else. It's just a concept completely foreign to me, and I've been through it.

The notion of "the family" as a holistic unit in potential conflict with the rest of society is something of a conservative fiction, no? Like society, your family is just a collection of individuals. Under your logic, your dad could have told your mom that her illness was her problem and that she should have worked, worked more, saved more, etc. to prepare for such an occurrence. (Basically the old-fashioned marital property approach.) But he didn't. Your family made the fiscally irresponsible but compassionate decision to spend hundreds of thousands on medical care for one woman in a deteriorating condition so that one boy (and whatever siblings you have) could have a mother for as long as possible. Your opponents on this thread would simply expand the compassionate unit beyond the family to society as a whole.

[sleepyjeff]

Originally Posted by Strangler Lewis

Like society, your family is just a collection of individuals.

Not just a collection of individuals.

[Strangler Lewis]

Originally Posted by sleepyjeff

Not just a collection of individuals.

Mathematically, yes. Emotionally, no, which is only because I came from a reasonably positive family background and was exposed to reasonably positive examples of family behavior among my friends and relations. I also learned somewhere not to have six wives, treat women like property, demand cult-like obedience and murder my daughter because she was not my son, all of which goes on in families here and abroad. Plenty of families treat their kids like boarders, especially once they turn 18.

Community is also a positive value that conservatives like to pretend they have a monopoly on (unless they're running down the gay community). But people don't automatically make a functioning community either, as any time through the littered streets of a poor neighborhood will tell you. However, communities often rally around their less fortunate members. Whether they do it by reaching in to their own pockets, through an organized church effort or through an organized government effort doesn't seem to be a meaningful difference to me. Responsibility doesn't end at your front door.

[scaeagles]

Originally Posted by Strangler Lewis

Community is also a positive value that conservatives like to pretend they have a monopoly on

And compassion is a positive value that liberals like to pretend they have a monopoly on.

[flippyshark]

Originally Posted by scaeagles

Community is also a positive value that conservatives like to pretend they have a monopoly on

And compassion is a positive value that liberals like to pretend they have a monopoly on.
__________________

Great! Conservatives are plenty compassionate, and liberals have a fine sense of community. I knew that already. So, let's move forward, shall we? (At least this exchange is concise.)

[scaeagles]

Originally Posted by Strangler Lewis

The notion of "the family" as a holistic unit in potential conflict with the rest of society is something of a conservative fiction, no? Like society, your family is just a collection of individuals.....

Quite honestly, this is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever read.