Gender is probably the most restricting force in American life, whether the question is who must be in the kitchen or who could be in the White HouseGloria Steinam - New York Times January 8th 2007
Mum and I have been watching CNN and fascinated by the unfolding drama in New Hampshire. It's incredible to think that America might finally elect a female president.I don't really have a full understanding of the whole process. The election campaign is vastly complex with huge campaigns raising hundreds of millions of dollars to fight for political ascendancy.
All this confusion makes me feel quite positive about our paliamentary system in Canada and our rather "grey" politics. Despite the wonderful healthcare that mum has received here in the U.S, she is still determined to get her Canadian residency.
Americans seem to view the world through the prism of their own isolation. You would hardly know there is a major political change looming in this country and a need for urgent national debate on healthcare . Britany Speers, Paris Hilton and the rest of the vacuous celebs fill the airwaves. I can only speculate that at best there is a widespread denial of the scope of the healthcare crisis or at worst a callous rejection of the sacrifices required to make a change.
I know I'm back on my same old soap-box but how do you explain 47 million people in America with no healthcare insurance ?
Dr Craig Hildreth ponders the same question more eloquently on his excellent blog The Cheerful Oncologist
"As scientists continue to assiduously unlock the secrets of disabling and killing the malignant cells that cause cancer, and as these secrets are transformed into promising medicines, the irony of the uninsured patient hangs in the air like the stench from a rotting carcass. Do we continue to hold our noses, or do we roll up our sleeves and dispose of the source of our revulsion?"
