Petra,

I understand that. That is why a lot of that is wrong. Everyone has their own agenda and it finds it's way into everything. Mine comes more for personal experience. What I do for a living is deal with writers, artists and interested parties from almost every class, income division, countries, cities, towns, and villages from pretty much everywhere you can imagine. People like those on these pages are pretty much my regular clientel for many years.

The problem with most Health care such as the Canadian system are many waiting lists and other things that many don't see. Those are the ones I have had personal dealings with. One of my clients nearly died waiting years to see a doctor and had to come to Minnesota to have her conditioned diagnosed and get treatment. She would have died if she waited much longer. on every trip I have ever made to or from Canada, I have been surrounded on every flight, in every airport by people coming to the US for treatments of some kind. they talk about it in line. have oxygen tanks, pamphlets on American hospitals, are on the phone obviously to Doctors because they are talking louder than they should and then of course there are the obvious looks of cancer patients, the jaundice skin, bandanas, wearing of hospital sweats, and other pretty obvious signs of sickness.

I have been involved with doctors and nurses in many capacities, (some I don't really want to go into here, LOL!) who have related their particular circumstances of treating indigent people, people in emergencies, people who can't afford treatment. In America, by law, no one can be turned down for health care.

Other people I know in health care in other countries, particularly England where the daughter of one of my best friends "Used to be" a nurse, recants horror stories of people actually dying in the halls and in the streets. (That is why she is not a nurse anymore)

So I think there are probably horror stories everywhere and I am sure there are those here as well. I have always paid for my own health insurance and yes, I have paid out of pocket on some expenses. But it is only fair as it is MY Health care, not someone else's.

On the subject that you started this post on, saving animals in Japan, I do applaud your goals. Pretty much any musician has a long standing history of helping out causes, doing benefits, using their talents to alieve suffering in many places. Mine goes back to the "We Are The World" days of USA for Africa in 1984 where a majority of the food and relief supplies rotted on the docks because of the Civil war that was starving people in the first place.

Over the years I have done many many fundraisers and participated in pretty much every Natural disaster and emergency in the past 25 years. I believe I have given mine and other people's fair share.I have no problem with it.

But I am realistic about the chances to help others. Over the past six or so years, I have relagated to helping people in my areas. Last year Nashville had enormous floods of which almost no press attention was given. Many that I know were washed away financially, and emotionally wrecked. So we did our best to help them. That is my policy now. I help those that I can, pray for the rest and take care of myself.

I do understand and applaud your efforts to stand up for what you believe in. That is the better angles of human nature and what separates us from the other animals on the planet. We do make messes, but we clean them up. We do have suffering, but most of us endevor to allieviate it.

Do what you can and positively affect the lives of others.
In the end that is all you can do.

MAB

Last edited by Marc Barnette; 04/09/11 06:28 PM.