By Morf Morford
Tacoma Daily Index
There are no facts, only interpretations. – Friedrich Nietzsche
For years I’ve thought about, disagreed with and debated Nietzsche’s statement.
Now I agree with it.
I’m still not sure what to make of it though.
I’d prefer to believe that some facts or events or even statements are reliably true or false, or at least unchanging.
We are in an era where, if we agree on nothing else, we can agree that nothing seems to be as it was. And that might be because it never was what we thought it was.
Here’s what I mean. Every month or so I hear a story about someone who is raising money for a good cause or has a surprise reunion with someone.
These are often the final feel-good news stories at the end of an all-too grim news program.
I generally like these stories, but when I see too many of them I get the sense that there is something not right about them.
Lunch Shaming
Why would a two sisters feel compelled to sell lemonade to help their classmates pay for their lunches? (1*)
I applaud their gumption, their compassion and their work ethic – but aren’t there any adults around who would ensure that school children are adequately fed?
The adults in the community and school have clearly abdicated any responsibility (and have created a new category of public shaming and debt) and we cheer on the children who have at least a shred of decency and humanity?
My bias (and I admit to being biased here) is that any adult who shames a child for not having lunch money and being hungry (!) should be fired and should be banned from any school district or any job having to do with children or any vulnerable adults (like the elderly or disabled). They clearly show no basic human care or decency. They have proven themselves irresponsible at the most basic level of care.
I would hope that any child who feels inspired to help their classmates with something as basic as lunch would know that somewhere, in some cubicle perhaps, sits an adult who would take on the role of every adult in every era and every society (except apparently, our own) and make certain that a hungry child is taken care of.
These stories of children raising money to pay the lunch debts of their peers are not “feel-good” stories – they are societal failure stories.
They are the stories of adults who, when called upon to be helpful providers and protectors of children, instead make a public spectacle, shame them and often throw away food instead of giving it to a hungry child.
Isn’t school stressful enough without the prospect of being publicly humiliated in the lunchroom?
Do we think that child will ever forget that experience?
Do we believe that any child who experiences or even witnesses such an event would have a positive attitude toward education or any public figures of authority in their communities?
A hungry child will not focus on learning, and will probably cause trouble in class – and will be more likely to drop out of school and cause even more trouble to themselves and the rest of us for years to come.
The lunch staff and the policy makers who approve such rules are the ones who should be publicly shamed.
The GoFundMe Health Care Program
On a more adult level, we have the same dynamic playing itself out in the health care arena.
Two thirds of Americans who file for bankruptcy do so because of health care expenses. (2*)
In 2017, Debt.org published research that showed that people aged 55 and older account for 20% of total bankruptcy filings. Even with assistance from Medicare, the average 65-year-old couple faces $275,000 in medical bills throughout retirement.
Even for those below retirement age, the cost of health coverage can be sobering – medical insurance premiums increased 54% while earnings (for those still in the workforce) have increased by only 26% since 2009.
If you think our health care system is labyrinthine, confusing and contradictory, consider what far too many of us are required to do to make our way through it in a time of trauma, stress or even grief.
Yes, millions of us surpass our medical coverage and are compelled to seek the financial support of strangers to help us pay our medical bills.
In fact, one of three campaigns through GoFundMe are for medical costs. (3*)
To put it simply, if we have to depend upon telling the most intimate and heartrending (and not necessarily true) stories (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/07/01/the-perverse-logic-of-gofundme-health-care) to raise money for our health care, there is something deeply wrong with our health care delivery system.
To put it mildly, we can do better than this. We pay far more than most other countries for health care and have far more limited service – if we can even get it.
How many of us know someone who has delayed (sometimes urgent) health care because they didn’t know if they could afford it?
(1*) https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/living/story/sisters-raise-thousands-dollars-selling-lemonade-pay-off-65218957 or https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/living/story/year-presents-school-4k-check-making-keychains-pay-68725360
(2*) https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/11/this-is-the-real-reason-most-americans-file-for-bankruptcy.html
