Friday, September 22, 2006

golden rule helps us all

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14951977/

Drug-resistant TB on the rise in U.S.
Often those with drug-resistant strains stop taking their medicine when they feel better but aren’t cured.That’s what happened with Pich Chhieng, 61, a teacher who was infected in his native Cambodia and carried it with him to this country. He took medication for eight months but abruptly stopped because he ran out of money and was feeling much better.
He didn’t know until he was hospitalized while visiting family in Los Angeles that by neglecting his treatment he had allowed the disease to mutate, and the drug-resistant bacteria had overwhelmed his lungs.

Many conservatives don't care about the poor. They don't care that 15,000 people in the U.S. die each year because they can't afford needed medical care. They don't care if elderly people starve to death because they weren't able to save enough when they were younger; I'm not kidding, they have told me so themselves, w/o any sign of guilt. But it is in our self-interest to help the poor. As in this example, if people stop taking antibiotics early, because they can't afford them, it leads to resistant strains of bacteria that threaten all of us. People who can't afford to get new glasses or a cataract operation endanger others on the road. People w/o hope can be a danger to society.
People who cannot or will not feel our connections to others are pitiful, and don't realize what they are missing.

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