The Health of Democracy

The following collection of pieces, gathered over the past three years, makes the case that a healthy participatory democracy relies heavily on the presence of an equitable, affordable, accessible, and high-quality health system. This suggests that the professional health workforce – doctors, nurses, and more – are “practitioners of democracy.” Their collective compassion, understanding and partnership help manage our populace’s fear and worry, reinforces family and community connectiveness, and points us toward a hopeful future. The articles below mine this central theme, and are offered here as a way to explore solutions to the critical question before us: “How do we make America healthy for all Americans?”

JUSTICE ROBERTS FORESAW THE ENSNAREMENT OF HEALTH PROFESSIONALS BY ALITO’S RADICALISM.

We all need affirmation and encouragement. That is why I was so grateful to receive a range of positive feedback on Hcom’s recent focus on the role of health professional oaths in supporting the foundations of democracy. One global health care leader wrote, “Thank you for your message and all the lovely pieces […]

THE DANGER TO OUR DEMOCRACY IN MOVING NURSES AND DOCTORS FROM THE FRONT LINE.

The 4.2 million registered nurses and 1 million doctors in America who are agents of democracy are being sidelined, with a noticeable negative impact on the health of our representative democracy. As such, we must be careful how we select, train, and utilize this resource, and take care to expand rather than diminish […]

NURSES AND DOCTORS: DEFENDERS OF DEMOCRACY.

My recent post, featuring North Carolina’s K-12 lesson plan on “The Rule of Law,” broke records for traffic, but drew this admonishment from one subscriber, “This is a strange post for a health care blog.” Since focusing on the social science of Medicine in the 2000 in Philadelphia, it has been an uphill […]

“IF MEN WERE ANGELS…” AMERICAN DEMOCRACY WILL PASS THIS STRESS TEST.

As we enter a new and potentially historic week, with a former President doing his best to reignite a Civil War in our nation, we do well to take a breath and reread James Madison’s words from Federalist No. 51. But first, a few words of history. When it came to checks and […]

HEALTH INSECURITY AND THE SURVIVAL OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Social Epidemiology, is a branch of epidemiology that concentrates on the impact of the various social determinants of health on the citizens of a nation. This field of study lives at the intersection of health care services, political science, the law, and history. What makes this field of study so timely and […]

TRUMP EARNS A DUNCE CAP IN NORTH CAROLINA.

Events over the past year clearly have confirmed that we are a “work in progress” even as we stubbornly affirm our good intentions to create a society committed to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” With the Dobbs’ decision, our Supreme Court has unleashed long-abandoned regressive state laws designed to reinforce […]

PATIENT-PHYSICIAN RELATIONSHIP FINDS ITSELF AT HIGH NOON ON FIFTH AVENUE.

If there is a silver lining to the Trump assault on decency and civility, it is our majority response to this “stress test” of our Democracy, and the sturdiness (thus far) of our Founders’ vision. And right in the center of this battle is the patient-physician relationship. It was, after all, a long […]

THE GOP HAS BECOME THE PARTY OF THEOCRATS, AND SAMUEL ALITO IS THEIR HIGH PRIEST.

In the realm of historical fiction, Justice Alito and his GOP supporters have proven themselves masterful. The 7 to 2 decision (with Alito and Thomas in opposition) to leave the FDA alone for now with jurisdiction over the safety and efficacy of Mifepristone, does little to reassure that these Theocrats are men of […]

THE GOP WANTS TO MANAGE YOUR MISCARRIAGE – YOU GOOD WITH THAT?

Twenty years ago, I headed up a social science think-tank focused on defining the role of the patient-physician relationship in well-functioning democracies. In six countries (including the U.S., UK, South Africa, Germany, Japan, and Canada), our studies revealed a rapidly evolving relationship – one moving toward mutual decision making and team approaches to […]

A DEBT OF GRATITUDE TO FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP. HERE’S WHY…

No man is above the law! That is the screaming headline behind last evening’s indictment (first of many) of former President Donald Trump. Donald Trump, for a time, sat himself in the middle of America’s triangle of power. From his seat as President, he installed himself as “a Golden Idol” and […]

THE “ANTEBELLUM PARADOX”: WHY ARE NATIVE WHITE AMERICAN MALES FALLING BEHIND IN HEALTH?

I recently made the case that “Health is foundational to a functioning democracy. But health must be shared and be broadly accessible to be an effective enabler of good government.” I also suggested that the pursuit of good health is implied and imbedded in the aspirational and idealistic wording of our U.S. Constitution, and that […]

THE DANGER OF STROKING A TIGER – LEARNING FROM CHURCHILL AND FDR

On the evening of December 29, 1940, with election to his 3rd term as President secured, FDR delivered these words as part of his sixteenth “Fireside Chat”: “There can be no appeasement with ruthlessness…No man can tame a tiger into a kitten by stroking it.” Millions of Americans, and millions of Britains were […]

2023: A FOCUS ON WOMEN’S AUTONOMY

Women’s bodily autonomy, post the Dobbs case, is up for grabs as the New Year begins. The collapse of Trumpers’ Red Wave in the 2022 Mid-term election proved that women don’t take kindly to being threatened or subjugated. But historians know that the insults women face today are deeply seated in our history […]

FIRST, EXTIRPATE TRUMP. THEN BEGIN THE NATION ANEW WITH HEALTH.

“The Right to Health Care and the U.S. Constitution.” On the surface, it sounds like a straight forward topic – a simple presentation. But a gentle scratch at the surface reveals a controversy that literally dates back 250 years and more. Is it a “right”, a “privilege”, or simply a “necessity?” I’m not a […]

THE AMA VS. DOBBS: “ADVOCACY” OR “ACTION” IN A MAGAGA WORLD. PART 2.

On November 8, 2022, five days after the 2022 Midterm elections, the AMA raised its voice in opposition to Republican efforts to promote second class citizenship for women by exerting public control over them and their doctors intensely private reproductive decisions. At the same time they sprinkled […]

DORIS KEARNS GOODWIN AND JON MEACHAM REFLECTIONS ON JAN. 6TH.

On the one year anniversary of the June 6th Insurrection, historians were well represented by two of their own – Jon Meacham and Doris Kearns Goodwin – who were invited to address members of Congress in a session moderated by Carla D. Hayden, Librarian of Congress. Here is a review for your reflection […]

ONE YEAR AFTER JANUARY 6TH: A ROLE FOR RESTORATIVE JUSTICE AND UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE IN AMERICA.

“We’re better than this” is the common refrain heard from many political leaders following the deadly assault on our democracy on January 6th. We hear empty appeals for blind appeasement from the likes of Kevin McCarthy in the interest of “bringing our country together.” But for those of us who study medical history, pursuing this […]

EISENHOWER TO BIDEN ON HEALTH CARE: “ENLARGE THE PROBLEM.”

My good friend, Kim Bellard, in a piece published in Medium titled “The Eisenhower Principle”, shines a light on this genuine American hero’s seminal military, political and management insight – “If a problem cannot be solved, enlarge it.” In Kim’s astute health care analysis, he notes “We’ve learned only half of Eisenhower’s adage: […]

NOTE TO AMA: REVERSING ROE V. WADE THREATENS THE PATIENT-PHYSICIAN RELATIONSHIP AND SOCIETAL TRUST IN DOCTORS.

“Should anyone present know of any reason that this couple should not be joined in holy matrimony, speak now or forever hold your peace.” The admonition above first appeared in the marriage liturgy section of the Book of Common Prayer in 1549 that laid out Church of England guidelines for worship leaders at […]

FOR A NATION GRIPPED IN FEAR, THE SOLUTION IS POSITIVE LEADERSHIP.

I wonder these days, “What are my fellow Americans thinking?” Not knowing the answer, I thought I might share with you what’s on my mind as the nation absorbs everything from Omicron variants to Roe v. Wade teetering on the cliff. My reflections have centered on the issue of change, how it affects […]

A LONG AWAITED “MOMENT OF TRUTH” FOR FDR AND PRESIDENT BIDEN.

A word is dead When it is said, Some say. I say it just Begins to live That day. Emily Dickinson Arguably, no President better understood the power of the word then FDR. When he structured up “a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms and regulations…to provide support for farmers, the […]

JULY 4, 2021 – SHARING THE TRUTH IN RED, WHITE, AND BLUE.

Four years ago, on July 4th, as we came to grip with Trumpism, I wrote a piece titled “A Nation At Risk This 4th of July.” At the time, I noted the fact that the US was the only developed nation in the world that spent more on Health Care than all other […]

PANDEMIC ACCELERANTS: THE TIME IS RIGHT FOR CHANGE.

“…quietly below the surface, there are transformational forces underway fueled by pandemic accelerants.” THCB Gang, March 4, 2021. Change on a societal scale promotes opposing forces – fear and retrenchment battles innovation and exploration. As we’ve witnessed in Washington, the clash can be epic and violent with Democracy itself at stake. Resolution sometimes […]

LAYING LIES TO REST: THE PANDEMIC PLAYBOOK.

When awakening from a long sleep, there is a transition period, when the brain struggles momentarily to become oriented, to “think straight.” When the sleep has extended four years, as with the Trump reign, it takes longer to clear the sleepy lies from your eyes. We are emerging, but it will take time […]

WE MUST ALL SWIM TOGETHER FOR CROSS-RACIAL SOLIDARITY.

“…honest self-examination is a critically important step to better understanding ourselves, to heal old wounds, and to take corrective actions to address ongoing societal harms.” These were not the words of a member of Congress in the wake of the January 6 insurrection, nor the incantations of a religious leader appealing to a […]

JUSTICE IS A COMPLICATED AFFAIR, DR. BARRASSO.

“We’re better than this” is the common refrain heard from many political leaders following the deadly assault on our democracy on January 6th. Are we really? One year ago, my physician friend, Senator John Barrasso, famously said, “The time for political stunts is over. The Senate had […]

COURAGEOUS WOMEN IN PUBLIC HEALTH

The following was delivered as an online lecture to Le Moyne College students and alumni on December 2, 2020. To attempt to cover the combined achievements and contributions of 9 ordinary women over a century and half – defining who they are, where they come from, who opposed them, what they accomplished, […]

WHAT DO BIDEN/HARRIS, SUPERMAN AND CLEAN ENERGY DISRUPTION HAVE IN COMMON?

The formal casting of Electoral College votes this week marked the moment that I felt comfortable in removing the Biden/Harris sign from my front lawn. In that moment, with the first Covid vaccines going in and Bill Barr going out, I allowed myself to believe that our new leaders were up to the […]

7 & 7: KNOWLEDGE VS. IGNORANCE

REFLECTION: To be prejudiced is the most fundamental form of ignorance expressed. The bigotry itself is so deeply flawed that it is easily disproved by observation and the expression of children. Great realms of information collected in defense do not change the facts. Foolish is foolish! We know what we know and the opposite as […]

A MARSHALL PLAN FOR AMERICA

Yesterday close to 300 registrants signed up for a webinar sponsored by my Jesuit alma mater, LeMoyne College, titled “The Birth of the Medical Industrial Complex in America, and How Covid-19 Has Made the Case For a National Health Care System”. The college’s motto, “Greatness meets Goodness”, speaks highly of their value system, […]

NATURE MAGAZINE: TRUMP HAS TAKEN AN AXE TO OUR DEMOCRACY.

A month ago, I catalogued the actions of the editorial boards of Scientific American and Science in their historic endorsements of Joe Biden for President. This week Nature magazine goes one step further in expressing regret for their statement of tolerance in 2016 when they wrote, “US democracy was designed with safeguards intended […]