Thursday, September 16, 2010

A Crisis Of Culture

"A somewhat more liberal and sympathetic examination of mankind will convince us that the cross is even older than the gibbet, that voluntary suffering was before and independent of compulsory; and in short that in most important matters a man has always been free to ruin himself if he chose." ~ G. K. Chesterton

I found this on Facebook. I have no idea whether it is a factual letter. I understand that the letter was written to the editor of a newspaper and not President Obama, but the sentiment contained therein remains accurate.

Pictured below is a young physician by the name of Dr. Roger Starner Jones. His short two-paragraph letter to the White House accurately puts the blame on a "Culture Crisis" instead of a "Health Care Crisis".



It's worth a quick read:

Dear Mr. President:

During my shift in the Emergency Room last night, I had the pleasure of evaluating a patient whose smile revealed an expensive shiny gold tooth, whose body was adorned with a wide assortment of elaborate and costly tattoos, who wore a very expensive brand of tennis shoes and who chatted on a new cellular telephone equipped with a popular R&B ringtone.

While glancing over her patient chart, I happened to notice that her payer status was listed as "Medicaid"!

During my examination of her, the patient informed me that she smokes more than one pack of cigarettes every day, eats only at fast-food take-outs, and somehow still has money to buy pretzels and beer.

And, you and our Congress expect me to pay for this woman's health care? I contend that our nation's "health care crisis" is not the result of a shortage of quality hospitals, doctors or nurses. Rather, it is the result of a "crisis of culture", a culture in which it is perfectly acceptable to spend money on luxuries and vices while refusing to take care of one's self or, heaven forbid, purchase health insurance.

It is a culture based in the irresponsible credo that "I can do whatever I want to because someone else will always take care of me". Once you fix this "culture crisis" that rewards irresponsibility and dependency, you'll be amazed at how quickly our nation's health care difficulties will disappear.

Respectfully,
ROGER STARNER JONES, MD

Note from your humble friend and blogger:

I call this "Crisis of Culture" an "Entitlement Mentality", and coming as I do, from a substantially less elite background than your average physician, I have had considerably more experience observing this attitude, and it is much more pervasive than the good doctor could ever imagine. In fact, this "Crisis of Culture" extends well past health care, and permeates nearly every facet of the average welfare recipients life. They get, besides free health care, free education, free food, free transportation, etc, and it's all paid for by you. The American tax payer.

Of the hundreds of welfare recipients I have personally known, perhaps 1% or less have pulled themselves out of the welfare system by taking responsibility for themselves, and refusing to settle for the status quo.

Including yours truly.


It isn't easy, but with perseverance and hard work, it can be done.

The rest remain beholden to a Government which continues, through government hand-outs and entitlement programs, to keep the poor enslaved in economic chains. Unfortunately, these same slaves to the welfare system are the same people who continue to vote, year after year, election after election, for the very people who have oppressed them.

The cycle will not end until we educate the people and elect responsible, incorruptible, freedom-loving patriots to the positions of power in our government.

10 comments:

Trader Rick said...

i need some free government stuff.

Anonymous said...

Going by rummage sales of welfare recipients is interesting. For sale will be lots of toys, games, and the kind of things that one would have lived without when I was a kid. The only bicycle I ever had was one given to me when they got a new one; and my parents never got a welfare check. Kids all have cell phones, name brand sneakers, etc. mom2

Z said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Z said...

"The cycle will not end until we educate the people and elect responsible, incorruptible, freedom-loving patriots to the positions of power in our government."

Well, I guess it'll never end then. :"-(

Fredd said...

Oh, it'll end all right. Not the way we want it to, if we don't start making things right before the weight of a welfare state collapses into chaos.

matthew said...

Riding the trains to and from work every day in Chicago, I see countless people who appear to be on government assistance of some sort.

And the number of people who are wearing brand new designer clothes and accessories and using smart phones with monthly costs extending into the hundreds of dollars and expensive electronic devices getting of at stops surrounded by blocks upon blocks of the most decrepit and uninhabitable excuses for domiciles is always startling.

This doctor is very right, and your comments even more so.

For anyone accepting government assistance the government ought to require an extensive and onerous level of personal accounting verified and backed up by substantial evidence. I'm paying for these people's iPhones and Applebottom jeans, and I deserve some information into how they're affording that and I'm not.

Jim said...

"I see countless people who appear to be on government assistance of some sort."

Appear how exactly?

Marshal Art said...

Appearances aside, this attitude permeats our culture without a doubt. The Democratic party depends upon it. Those who have too much pride to accept handouts do not support those who run for office promising handouts. The right side of the political spectrum do not ignore the poor and needy. We simply give directly and support policies that allow business to expand so as to allow for more hiring. But from the perspective of the individual, some level of personal responsibility is essential.

As to Z's comment, no one is incorruptable. But there are those who can resist for longer periods than others, who have a track record of selfless service. That we may have to hope the record is accurate goes without saying and finding from those available the least corrupted is part of the process. In addition there are new faces to consider and their ability to remain "pure" is always a gamble, but the gamble on these as well as on the veteran politicians is less so if we're doing our duty as citizens and paying attention. THAT'S how we get as close as possible to the ideal and our failure in the past has brought us to this point.

Always On Watch said...

Sad fact: most voters will vote their entitlements.

In my view, the key is to have available fewer entitlements in the first place.

Krystal said...

I wrote something related myself this morning. Why do they get food stamps for food and then come up with $60 for alcohol and smokes?