Is Health Care a Right or a Privilege? Part 1 - Pro
Once upon a time before the Military-Industrial-Government Complex, Americans were mostly rural and relied on direct sources of food, water, fuel, and shelter. Personal involvement in and responsibility for those needs has decreased with the transformation from direct personal sourcing modes to control of sourcing by corporate operations.
That transformation happens without anything one can reasonably consider as adequate citizen or government oversight. All too often, lack of transparency is intentional with the result that American citizens have woefully inadequate awareness of the long-term cost/benefit picture. With the advent of "globalization" this sorry state of affairs is now being propagated abroad by corporate entities in the form of WTO, NAFTA, World Bank, etc.
While some aspects of quality of life improve for some populations, it is undeniable that tragic consequences have befallen segments of populations with little or no opportunity for them to correct the wrongs of the larger society and improve their lot. Medical statistics have shown that degraded diet, water, and air quality are responsible for billions of dollars in AVOIDABLE health care costs. That degradation has happened largely without citizen involvement in the decisions that brought it about.
So one must ask, if YOU had cancer-right now-would you consider medical treatment a privilege?
Considering the above, one must conclude that
- Health care is a human right
- Preventive care must include broad revision and oversight of all commercial activity that has human health implications
- Federal level controls must be implemented to protect citizen health and quality of life, at least until citizens are equipped to take on that responsibility