Sicko

"I'm an eye. A mechanical eye. I, the machine, show you a world the way only I can see it. I free myself for today and forever from human immobility. I'm in constant movement. I approach and pull away from objects. I creep under them. I move alongside a running horse's mouth. I fall and rise with the falling and rising bodies. This is I, the machine, manoeuvring in the chaotic movements, recording one movement after another in the most complex combinations.Freed from the boundaries of time and space. I co-ordinate any and all points of the universe, wherever I want them to be. My way leads towards the creation of a fresh perception of the world. Thus I explain in a new way the world unknown to you." - Dziga Vertov, 1932





This past Sunday I accompanied my boyfriend to see Michael Moore's new film, Sicko, a "documentary" on the shortcomings of the American health care system. Before going to the theatre, I had already braced myself to see a signature Michael Moore film: extreme leftist views, wry humor, drama and partial facts that serve his purpose only (they're not meant solely to inform, but to gain the viewers support of his cause).


While he was extremely accurate in his portrayal of how the American health care system differs with foreign ones (French, Cuban, Canadian and British) financially - health care has been nationalized, and is therefore free - he failed to show the quality of care that people in these countries have. As Americans, we may be paying up the ass for health care, but we're paying for convenience, efficiency, and quality.

What really upset me was that he did not document one of the most important subjects in this issue: American doctors. There's this idea in this country that doctors rip people off and make tons of money. While doctors do tend to make larger salaries than much of the American population, some doctors just make enough to live comfortably. My dad is one of these doctors.

When my mother died, my father suddenly became a single parent to a 16-year-old, and a 7-year-old. Knowing that children of these ages should not be left alone at home all evening after school, my dad cut his work hours dramatically, eventually to the point of not accepting new patients. This resulted in a much lower salary. When I started college, my father - for the first time in his life - had to start living paycheck to paycheck in order to pay for my schooling (and to save for my brother's).

The field of medicine is not what it used to be either. My dad can remember a time where people didn't sue for every little thing, and when insurance companies didn't charge so much; it's becoming almost impossible to be a doctor these days. Though my dad is still very much interested in what he does, and gets great satisfaction from helping people, he no longer loves it, and lives for the day that he's able to retire.

He's recently told me that when he retires, he plans on joining Doctors Without Borders. He's always been interested in travelling to other countries (something that he's been unable to do with the crazy schedule he works), but his main reason for going is the people he hopes to help . "People like that actually appreciate the care they're given. Americans just aren't like that," he said me, "in this country, we feel entitled to everything and take things for granted."


I agree that there needs to be some sort of change in how our health care system is run, and I also agree that everyone should be able to receive health care no matter what their economic background. Unfortunately, the American health care system - much like America itself - is run as a business and only stands to benefit the upper tier of society.