Professor Stern's lecture on Latina/o health in the United States was very interesting. The health care crisis in this country has become a very serious issue, and I think it's sad that we may be the richest country in the world, but our health care system is 37th out of 187 countries, (with all of Europe above us). It is the government's responsibility to make the health system here as effective as possible, but putting the issue on the back burner for all these years has just led to crisis. 50 million people in the United States do not have health insurance. I work at a restaurant, and one of the guys from Mexico that I work with has been working there for twenty years, and does not have health insurance. He told me that he can't get sick because he will "be screwed". I think that the United States government needs to provide health care for everybody. Everyone is entitled to free health care, regardless of how rich or poor, how healthy, or how old. I am hoping that with this new government administration, we can finally start to fix our health system and make it available or more accessible to every American.
Another issue that was discussed in lecture was the bad stereotypes of Latinas/os as "dirty" and "diseased". These stereotypes go back to the early 1900s, and are still around today, which I find disturbing. Also, the working conditions of Latina/o farm workers is terrible. I know people who worry about the pesticides used on fruits and vegetables, so they either buy organic, or try to grow their own. If people are worried about the pesticides and chemicals at the consumer level, I cannot imagine the seriousness of the health risks for those actually picking the fruits and vegetables and working amongst them when just sprayed. Pesticides are still being used, and we need to make sure that the use of them is safe and regulated.
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4 comments:
I agree with this post. Health Insurance is something that everyone in America needs to have. The federal government needs to provide some sort of health care for everyone so that there is not one person who is denied medical attention. This has been a problem in our country for a very long time and it needs to be stopped.
We need socialism...or socialized healthcare at least... but the government is all against that, but honestly, we have libraries and post offices and education that are socialized and they work fine...
I agree that people should not be denied healthcare due to their race, sex, gender, income level, etc. It is not fair that those who have a chronic illness, or desperately need an operation, are not able to receive the proper treatment!! This should not be happening! It is extremely important that people are able to receive proper healthcare!
I don't understand how our healthcare system could be so bad. Maybe it is becuase I am ignorant of how economics works but I think that Americans should accept the idea of having public health care system rather than a privatized one. I do see the importance of capitalism and the free trade market, but when it comes to the health and benefit of the citizens, we should all be working together in order to ensure we have the strongest and healthest people we can. Otherwise, how will be able to work together in times of need, such as war times, if we know that our neighbor wouldn't help us out for our every day needs.
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