Lack of insurance coverage isn't the only factor causing these tragic
numbers. Education and other social factors play a part, too. It's
shocking that a government which so actively promotes what it calls the
"right to life for the unborn" is so indifferent to the epidemic of
death that is taking down the newly-born in some communities.
The infant mortality epidemic is almost Biblical in the scope of its
horror, yet too many of those who profess to read the Bible are
indifferent to it. I'm thinking of people like Jerry Falwell, who
rushed to send an email to potential contributors that said: "We want
to honor the victims in Monday's brutal slayings and to pray for the
families of the young people who were killed. It is our responsibility
as Christians to offer our heartfelt prayers and our support."
Falwell's email makes reference to I Peter 5:7, which says "cast all
your care upon Him, for He cares for you." But this friend to
Presidents and Senators makes no mention of the verses that precede it,
which include these words: ""God opposes the proud, but gives grace to
the humble." Yet the proud and powerful figures he consorts with
support policies that enrich the already-wealthy, while leaving the
disadvantaged without the health care they desperately need.
Others, too, have rushed to fill the vacuum left by horror with their
own self-serving actions. Katie Couric and CNN have lavished themselves
with attention, using this tragedy as a backdrop for their posturing.
The President who so carefully concealed soldiers' flag-draped coffins
rushed to present himself to the public using Virginia Tech as a
backdrop.
Where are the kleig lights for these other Americans - the ones struck
down by economic forces? Where are the CNN specials? Why haven't we
seen Brian Williams standing in front of a community hospital telling
America about this ongoing tragedy?
Our nation's policy toward mental health deserves attention in light of
the Virginia Tech horror, too. We live in the only industrialized
nation in the world that allows insurance companies to treat mental
health as less "real" than so-called physical disorders and therefore
restrict or deny coverage for mental health treatment.
Insurers are able to take advantage of our society's Puritanical belief
that mental illness is a 'failure of will,' or that it's 'all in your
imagination.' That's a false duality. Some mental illnesses are clearly
organic, like schizophrenia, while physical complaints such as
non-specific back pain are often more psychological than physical. Mind
and body form one whole, and it makes no sense clinically to behave as
if they can be separated.
Our Manichean belief in this false separation has created a crisis in
untreated mental illness, even among those who have health insurance.
(Barbara Ehrenreich has more on mental health
here.)
As every suicide teaches us, mental illness can be fatal. As Virginia
Tech reminds us, it can even be fatal to those who don't suffer from
it. We should be learning the same lessons from alcohol-related driving
accidents, or the vast majority of workplace accidents that occur as a
result of psychological factors.
That's why the media's lackluster coverage of health issues is so
disappointing, especially in light of its ghoulish fascination with
this week's tragedy. Political scientist Bernard Cohen observed over 40
years ago that, "The press may not be successful much of the time in
telling people what to think, but it is stunningly successful in
telling its readers what to think
about."
It's a great point (although I'd argue they've also becoming
increasingly skillful at telling people what to think, too.) Daniel
Yankelovich expanded on Cohen's observation:
In a era of information overload, it is the media's
judgment of just how important an issue is that makes the critical
difference to how seriously average Americans will take it and what
action they will be willing to support - especially if the action
involves inconvenience, discomfort, or pain in the pocketbook.
Television this week has used the Virginia Tech tragedy to launch a
round-the-clock drive for ratings, while unseen Americans suffer and
die each day from inadequate health care.
Someone should light candles in their memory, too.
The Sentinel Effect: Healthcare Blog
A Night Light
Future-While-U-Wait
RJ Eskow at the Huffington Post
Writings 
My heart breaks for the 33 people who died Monday. It also breaks for the estimated 50 Americans who died on the same day as a result of inadequate health coverage. Most of them had families who loved them, too. Where is their candlelight vigil? Where are their Presidential eulogies, or their exhaustive television coverage?
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