Justice, Republics, and Health Care
So I spent yesterday teaching a summer reading workshop all about Plato's Republic and the notions of justice and equality - two terms that are often at the center of debate in my political science classes, as they are in our nation. I left feeling pretty smug about how well I'd presented the difficult problem of how to create a just society that has as its goal equal opportunities for all people, if not equal outcomes.
And on the way home NPR reminded me of just how crappy a job we are doing at it.
The L.A. County Board of Supervisors announced that they will be shutting down the south Los Angles hospital complex once known as Martin Luther King Jr.-Charles Drew Medical Center. "King-Drew" grew out of the race riots in the 1960s as a hospital of, for, and by the African-American community that was and continues to be poorly served and represented in the health care industry. For at least it's first decade (1972-1982) it was widely hailed as a success, yet in recent years scandal after scandal has prompted federal authorities to step in time and again to mandate change and to threaten loss of funding. Now, the hospital has officially lost the federal dollars and the county's Board has decided it should close. The emergency room shut down last Friday and the rest will be shuttered within two weeks.
The L.A. Times offers this perspective:
There are nearly 50 million people in this country without health care and millions more who are under served. Worse, few African-American and Latino young people ever see a Black or Hispanic doctor and don't believe they can become one themselves (they have reason to think this if you look at their enrollment numbers at UCLA for example). If America is to be a nation that lives up to its inherited mission of "justice for all", we'd better get around to working at it. Until then, we're just another failing republic. Plato wouldn't be surprised.
Please leave your comments. Your perspective is appreciated.
And on the way home NPR reminded me of just how crappy a job we are doing at it.
The L.A. County Board of Supervisors announced that they will be shutting down the south Los Angles hospital complex once known as Martin Luther King Jr.-Charles Drew Medical Center. "King-Drew" grew out of the race riots in the 1960s as a hospital of, for, and by the African-American community that was and continues to be poorly served and represented in the health care industry. For at least it's first decade (1972-1982) it was widely hailed as a success, yet in recent years scandal after scandal has prompted federal authorities to step in time and again to mandate change and to threaten loss of funding. Now, the hospital has officially lost the federal dollars and the county's Board has decided it should close. The emergency room shut down last Friday and the rest will be shuttered within two weeks.
The L.A. Times offers this perspective:
"...to see the hospital as a failed institution is to miss the point. It is the county government itself that is failing. The county's foster care system, its jails, its probation department -- all have flirted with collapse. All are underfunded and neglected. All fail the same demographic -- the poor, African Americans, Latino immigrants -- over and over again." (LAT Editorial, 8/15/07)Indeed, it is shameful that in the wealthiest county in the wealthiest state in the wealthiest country in the world, politicians can't seem to come together to find it in their interest to serve those they represent. Make no mistake, the closing of this medical center is not just an indictment of L.A. county - politicians that represent this region downtown, in Sacramento, and in Washington are responsible for ensuring that "even the least among us" receive their full benefit of justice. I can't imagine elected officials allowing any public accommodation that serves wealthy donors or affluent voters to fail. Perhaps it's a cynical observation, but it's a hard one to avoid at times like these, and I think it's correct.
There are nearly 50 million people in this country without health care and millions more who are under served. Worse, few African-American and Latino young people ever see a Black or Hispanic doctor and don't believe they can become one themselves (they have reason to think this if you look at their enrollment numbers at UCLA for example). If America is to be a nation that lives up to its inherited mission of "justice for all", we'd better get around to working at it. Until then, we're just another failing republic. Plato wouldn't be surprised.
Please leave your comments. Your perspective is appreciated.
Comments
As for the post, I think you put a whole lot into perspective by explaining:
"It is shameful that in the wealthiest county in the wealthiest state in the wealthiest country in the world, politicians can't seem to come together to find it in their interest to serve those they represent."
Although the closing of King-Drew may have been prompted by financial/structural reasons, I believe the issue goes way beyond health care and spills into the simple concept of justice. Political leaders can truly "miss the point" when choosing what is practical over what is just.
-Kenny