HW 25 - Response to Sicko

1. A one paragraph precis of 125 words or less - Michael Moore's 125 word version of the film, proportional to the film:


The movie sicko by Michael Moore was a comparrison of the united states health care system compared to Canada, the United Kingdom and France.  He goes and talks to many different families about their issues with the american health care system.  Most of the responses from americans about the health care were not good ones in terms of how much they liked the health care.  When people in the other countries were asked they only had good things to say about their health care.


2.)
a.) Argument: People who actually need health care are being denied it. 
b.) only 250 million americans have health insurance


c and d.)
In the CNN article, CNN Gupta Fact Checks Michael Moore's sicko, by Brad Wilmouth Dr. Sanjay Gupta tries to in a way prove Michael Moore wrong.  He looks at Michael Moore's facts and replaces what he thinks are the correct facts with what Dr. Gupta claims to be the "correct facts.  He seems to find a lot of errors in Michael Moore's movie. In the article it states, Cooper: "You know, let's be honest. Insurance companies are for-profit businesses, and the way they maximize profits is by minimizing payments. Isn't that correct?"  This quote is showing that the insurance companies are doing whats best for them in terms of making money.  The more claims that the insurance company denies the more money that they save which eventually adds up to more money that they make.  This is a huge reason why so many americans are living without health care.  There have been many moments in the movie sicko where they showed people who had real needs for health care but were denied it because the health care industry wanted to save some money.  What kind of country do we live in where the people who are supposed to be giving us care are doing what ever they can to try and take that care away from the people.


3.Response-
The most important thing for me in the movie that really caught my eye was the interviews he did with the people.  I feel that he really showed us what it was like for average people trying to live in America and all of the struggles that they have to go through just to survive.  This movie affected my perspective of dominant social practices in the way that it really made me think about the big corporations.  I always thought that health insurance was something that should be a right for all people and no one should be without health insurance.  I also thought that at least some insurance companies were trying to help out the people but this movie showed me that the companies are only trying to find bigger and better ways to make money even if that means denying an american in need of health insurance. 

HW 24 - Illness & Dying Book, Part 3

Precis:

The book Tuesdays with Morrie ended in the way that I assumed it would, Morrie passed on.  Although everyone knew that Morrie was going to die like Morrie said nobody wanted to accept his death.  Morrie and Mitches relationship became stronger then ever.  But so did Morrie and Ted's relationship, Ted became very comfortable around morrie and so did Morrie around Ted.  Instead of Morrie giving Ted answers that he wouldnt really understand they learned to speak more in eachothers language and learned to understand eachother more.

Insightful quotes: Koppel: "You did a good job" Morrie: "I gave you what I had".(pg.163)

This is showing that instead of it being just an interview on profesional terms it became more of a personal relationship.  You can see this because Ted congratulated morrie on an interview.  Usually they would say thank you but not tell them that they did a good job because that shows a sign of comfort because he felt comfortable enough to give him the truth as a friend.

"Forgive yourself before you die.  Then forgive others".(pg.165)

This quote was particularly insightful for me because when he says you have to forgive yourself before you forgive others it really makes me wonder, forgive yourself for what?  Should you forgive yourself for every bad thing that you have ever done?

"It's not contagious, you know.  Death is as natural as life.  It's part of the deal we made".(pg.172)

This quote shows that death is a part of life.  The real main consequence to life is dying.  If you want to accept a good life you also have to accept the fact taht with a good life there will still be the consequence of death.

This book really made me think about how I look at life.  Even though Morrie had such a life threatening disease he still had a postive outlook on life.  He made me realize that no matter how bad things get my situation is not even close to his.  I have realized that through Morries knowledge that life is something that needs to be looked on positively.  Through morries hard times he got all of the love and friendship that he needed and even while he was dying that was enough to make him happy during his last few weeks that he had to live.

HW 23 - Illness & Dying Book, Part 2

Precis:  In the second 1/3 of the book tuesdays with Morrie you really start to notice a big difference on Morrie's state of health.  He has become much more weak and less able to do every day tasks.  At this point Mitch is still going to see him every tuesday.  Mitch usually brings food for Morrie which he would normally eat but now since he is getting more sick Morrie hasn't even had enough strength to eat the food that he brings him.  When Morrie talks he usually is very enthusiastic and likes to use hand gestures when he speaks.  Since the disease has worsened Morrie can no longer do that.  He is in a way starting to shut down.

Insightful quotes:

1.) Morrie, " Everyone knows that they are going to die but nobody believes it".( pg.80)
When I was reading the book this quote actually made me stop right away.  It is true that everyone at some time will die, but nobody really wants to come to terms with the fact that it will actually happen to them. People like to think that they will live on and on but it is not true and they don't want to believe it is not true.

2.)Morrie, "Well, the truth is if you really listen to that bird on your shoulder, then you might not be as ambitious as you are".(pg.83)
This quote to me is saying that if you listen to all the negative things that could happen when you do something then you will never want to do it. So if you listen to what everyone tells you then you will never excel in life.

3.)Morrie, "Learn how to die, and you learn how to live". (pg.83)
This quote really caught my eye. I think what he is saying is that if you accept death then your life will be much more happy and you will really know what it is like to live.

In the middle 1/3rd of the book the way that the characters think about illness and dying has changed.  Instead of being angry about it they have in a way learned to accept it.  I can relate to this because when i was younger I was always thinking that me and my family could never die and nothing bad would ever happen to us.  Then I came to terms with the fact that it was not true, something can go wrong and i can lose a family member at anytime.  You just really need to cherish the time you have with those family members.  This relates to Morrie's idea of not listening to the little bird on your shoulder, that is true because if you do you will never live life to the fullest.

HW 22 - Illness & Dying Book Part 1

Precis:
In the book tuesdays with morrie by Mitch Albom the main topic is about death and how to deal with it.  Morrie is a man who has a disease that goes by the name of Lou Gehrig's disease.  In the first 60 pages of the book you really get a good insight on what it is like to experience death.  Moirrie talks about how he deals with death and everything that comes with it.  He explains how he feels and how he tries to make the best out of his situation.  On page 21 Morrie says, "When this all started, I asked myself, am I going to withdraw from the world, like most people do, or am I going to live? I decided i'm going to live- or at least try to live-the best way I want, with dignity, with courage, with humor, with composure".  This just goes to show you that he wants enjoy the time that he has left, he doesn't want to sit around and complain about death, he wants to live his remaining days in happiness.

Insightful quotes:

1.) Ted,"So how do you know things are going downhill?"  Morrie,"Nobody can know it but me Ted, but I know it". (pg. 69-70)
 -This quote for me was particularly interesting because although there is evidence from doctors that  Morrie is very sick he still believes that only he can know when things are really starting to get bad.

2.) "Listen, I have to pee.  Would you mind helping? Are you okay with that?". (pg.11)
- What this is showing is that even with this disease he is still comfortable to ask people for help.  It shows that he is comfortable and doesn't to be treated any differently.

3.) "You know Mitch, now that i'm dying i've become more interesting to people".(pg.32)
- This to me makes it seem like you don't really know how good something is until its either gone or you know that it's getting taken away from you.

Morrie and Mitches relationship reminds me of me and my 4th and 5th grade teachers relationship.  His name is Themi and he was just like Morrie in my opinion.  He is a nice sweet kind hearted and intelligent man who thought of me as his favorite student.  Like Mitch I would often go out of my way to spend extra time with Themi and help him when he was in need.  Themi was a teacher for about 15 or 16 years and he retired 2 years ago.  Out of all the former students he had I was the only one who showed up at his retirement party.  Similar to Mitch being Morries only former student who came to visit him while he was ill.  Teachers like this come along once in a life time and when they do you have to make the best out of your time with them, because trust me you will miss those moments that you had with him or her, I miss having Themi as a teacher every day.

Albom, Mitch. tuesdays with Morrie. 1. New York: Doubleday, 1997. Print.

Hw 21 - Comments

Alex,
I really like your insights of how someone can be completely fine one day and have a horrible illness the next day. It is very interesting that the word death wasn't used around Eric because he was in denial. Do you think that he was in denial about his death in general or in denial about losing all the important things that he had in life?


Evan,

I'm sorry to hear that you had to watch your grandmother pass away slowly. Like you my grandmother is very sick right now and has been for some time now. I know how you feel, it is horrible to have to watch someone you love suffer like that. I do agree with your insight of how someone can do so much good for the world and then the world can kill them. It's very unfair but i guess that's just how life goes. Very good post in all though.

HW 21 - Expert #1

Important insights:

1.) She loved him so much and cared about him so much that for 9 months she stayed with him while he was sick.
2.) He didn't get get insurance till 7 months after he was diagnosed with cancer.
3.) He was trying to push death away.

My first important insight was chosen because I have personal experience with this.  My fathers best friends wife is living with brain cancer and her husband(my dads friend) tries takes her to the best hospitals in the United States and will do anything to get her better.  Although I was not here to listen to evan's mother I do understand what they are going through.  It is a horrible burden to have on yourself to be put in these situations. I feel that you just have to think about the good times that were had but try to accept your loss.  From the notes I received beth did seem to deal with the loss well and of course she will still miss him for ever but it is good that she is learning to cope with her loss.

One thing that surprised me was that he couldn't get insurance until 7 months after he was diagnosed with his cancer.  I think that people who have cancer should be treated no matter what.  It is not fair that just because you can afford insurance and health care that you should be treated but someone who is just as sick if not sicker cant get the treatment they need because they cant afford it.  In a country that is "a super power" we should at least be able to give our people something as meaningful as health care for free.

HW 19 - Family Perspectives on Illness & Dying

When I saw this assignment I decided to go interview my dad first.  The reason I thought to interview him first was because he has had a lot people close to him pass away so I thought he would have a lot interesting things to say.  When I asked my dad if he was afraid to die he said that like me he used to be but then as he lived his life he said that he came more to terms with the fact that dying is the price you have to pay to live.  He does have very strong opinions on people dying though.  Since so many of his good friends died at such young ages my dad thinks that death is a very unfair thing.  He believes that people who have only done good and done what they could to benefit others should not die at such a young age.  But the people who are selfish and do the wrong thing a lot should be the ones in that position.  I agree completely with that, it is not fair for someone who has tried to do good all their life to get it all taken away from them for no reason.

When I went and talk to my mom her answers were similar to my dads but different at the same time.  Unlike my dad my mom hasn't had as much experience with death but when she has it hurt her terribly.  When I asked her what was the worst experience with death she had she told me it was when her father died.  My mother and her mother didn't have the best relationship but she had an amazing relationship with her dad.  She said that when she lost her dad the sadness went on for a while and she still thinks about him all the time.  This made me think because my biggest fear is losing my parents.  I just don't know what I would do with out them.  My mom felt the same way about losing her father, she said that you get used to not having them around but you never get rid of the feeling of wanting to see them or hear their voice one more time.

In concussion both me and my parents do have very similar views about death.  I feel that they influenced me a great deal with my views of death.  In my interviews there were very few things that I was surprised about in terms of their views on the topic.  Since they have always taught me to cherish my loved ones that really impacts how I feel about losing loved ones.  This just goes to show you that your parents have a really big impact on how you view life and death even if you don't think that they do.  It also shows that you really don't know how good something is until its gone from your life.