The value of Human Suffering…

So I had a debate of sorts on twitter with someone; the debate came about from the question  ”Are people still questioning the changes that Barack Obama is trying to bring in USA?”

The basis of the question arose from the fact that the Health Care Plan bill passed successfully through the lower house in the US, and is one step closer to extending health insurance coverage to more than 36 million people…. let me repeat that – 36 million more people will have greater coverage to medical care and facilities, 36 million people will have access to treatment which they have been historically denied due to the loopholes left in by insurance companies, a GOOD PART of 36 million people will have access to medical facilities which they have NEVER had before!

Ok, so that is a statement at a very high level, let me take it down a step lower.

It is a shocking position for the US of A, such that historically a huge number of people have had extremely restrictive access to healthcare. The people who are affected by this have largely been sufferers; think back to a situation such as when hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and Louisiana for example – a lot of the people who got caught out in that were people at the bottom end of the scale in terms of earning power; these are people who are still struggling to get their livelihood back on track, resurrect their destroyed houses and get back to normality. These people have never upgraded their lives above hand to mouth, and this is not by choice.

My question is this – when people like these are getting help from the state in terms of healthcare, why don’t the masses stand up and show support for this innitiative? Have we lost the sensitivity as human beings to “ignore” suffering as a generic problem and categorise one suffering above another?

Is this what we have become?

Human suffering can come in any shape or form – us humans are nobody to categorise or place one above the other. Yes, people Stateside perhaps have “better” conditions than people in Africa – that could be argued, but was it their choice to be born or exist where they are? Did they have a choice in terms of the circumstances in which they were created? No… right? Then what gives us the right to be more sympathetic to one group of people greater than others?

To put it into perspective – we have all seen images, reports, and some of us have been actively involved in places like Sudan and Somalia for instance, and seen the food crisis, suffering and literal loss of hope in these regions, but living in a first world country – if your neighbour was going through a similar situation – would you take a decision to help someone in Sudan or Somalia over your neighbour JUST BECAUSE they are “more” deserving or if their suffering is  ”greater”?

Humans suffer everywhere around the world – I have seen poverty in England, and I don’t class it any differently to poverty anywhere else in the world. You cannot eradicate human suffering without making a difference locally; more importantly – getting involved in making the difference is paramount!

The fact that the US of A are putting in measures to help people who need it more than others HAS to be commended and supported; it does not matter that it is happening in the USA, the fact that the suffering of more than 36 million people will be eased a little; this factor comes into play more than anyother.

Tagged as: africa, barack obama, England, Health care, Health Care Reforms, Health insurance, Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, United States