I strongly agree with all your comments fellow classmates. I am continually astonished when I think of the principles that America was founded upon and how the healthcare situation seems to contradict these principles. As a country we have always valued opportunity and the right for all to pursue happiness. I once read an article that said that “in the year 2006 alone over 1,200,000 people were granted legal permanent resident status in the United States.” Clearly America is thought of as a country filled with promise--do not get me wrong I think it really is and I feel very blessed to be here. However, it is clear that there are many complications and problems that revolve around healthcare. I was saddened by the statistic the video presented: that 47 million Americans are uninsured and the number continues to rise. If America is founded upon the principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness one would think that as citizens we would be granted better access to healthcare. If 47 million citizens find themselves living on a day to day basis without insurance, the country is essentially allowing them to “walk on a tightrope” so to speak. The minute they get sick or get a chronic disease, they lose the right to a healthy fulfilling life in which they can pursue happiness. Not only will it perhaps lead them to have to pay outrageously high medical bills in visiting the ER, but it can lead to bankruptcy, homelessness, basically the complete deterioration of a person’s financial well-being. On a wider more communal scale if one uninsured individual gets sick he or she can no longer contribute to society and they may put the physical or emotional health of others at risk.

This morning a professor told me about a research project a student is involved with. This student has used GIS mapping to prove that the highest rates of 3rd or 4th stage breast and prostate cancer exists in communities of Los Angeles that have large pockets of uninsured communities. The reason why is because these affected individuals do not see doctors regularly and therefore they do not seek medical treatment till their cancer is very advanced. This bothers me very much and I do not think this is fair. I have actually been thinking about this all day and I feel very overwhelmed. I am not quite sure what can be done to remedy situations like these or the situations that were presented in the video. So the questions that arise in my mind are: What can be done to remedy issues such as these? How could we assure that all Americans are given the right to the principles the country was founded on?