hope
L A S T W O R D
.
.
.
This Blog certainly does not qualify as an eschatological happening, as much as the use of “LAST WORD” by me might seem to indirectly imply. And, I certainly do not anticipate any divine happenings. There currently seems to be no end to those prognostications.
Abandoning now the NATIONAL HEALTH preoccupation with our feverish times, I would be remiss in not expressing my own spiritual connection to the ultimate question for our human existence: “WHY?” Simply put, my basic answer is: “to take care of each other” and to accept that the full context for any answer may not be humanly knowable. But, in asking it, there does seem to be a timeless interconnection among light, life and love. The word Faith applies to this interconnection, not in reference to the expression of any specific religious tradition, but in reference to a timeless acknowledgement that the interconnection is real.
The resulting tumultuous, human experience that has occurred over time also leads me to “why ask why?” To avoid a disabling resignation from asking this conundrum, it is likely that we achieve solace, dignity and humor by a commitment to “take care of each other.” And, in doing this from within communities of action, we achieve an awareness that the ultimate human capability for our survival is our spiritual connection with eternity, our Faith.
To witness a newborn child, a sunrise, a clump of blooming daffodils in the spring or the waves on the coast of Maine, invigorates our human experience and its timeless beauty. This human experience and its world-wide survival will probably be ultimately driven by our commitment to our communities of action, as in families, extended families, neighbors and community, our social capital asset.
The social and political complexities of our times should not deter us in this commitment. I am reminded that the United Nations projects the world-wide population to increase from 7.0 billion in 2012 to 9.6 billion in 2050. The complexity posed by climate change only further magnifies the future complexities of each person’s survival. Life, as we know it, faces unimaginable future dangers.
.
.
.
S U B – P A G E S
.
* intellectual PROPERTY Assuming that Congress might actually establish NATIONAL HEALTH, what is the likelihood that 20 years later, it would still be functioning as proposed or has even accomplished its initial intent? As of 2017, “very low” would be a realistic answer, probably at the yearly level of a citizen’s risk of being hit by lightning.
On the other hand, the concepts underlying the scale of NATIONAL HEALTH for promoting collective action could promote a new strategy for healthcare reform. To conceive of larger arenas for change could be the only conceptual value for the intellectual PROPERTY of this Blog. We must begin with a renewed reconciliation between the humanitarian and the scientific mandates for our nation’s healthcare.
I will leave all of this for others to establish or claim, especially considering the multitude of meaningful contributors. If there is one person to acknowledge, it is Professor Elinor Ostrom. I would dedicate any lasting recognition of NATIONAL HEALTH to her memory.
.
* BIOGRAPHY I have attempted to identify the significant professional career events that led to my commitment for starting and sustaining this Blog.
.
This page has the following sub pages.
