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| i dreamt
i woke up late and missed my test. i had to go over to take it, late. then in the middle of the test, i left to finish it later. my chem teacher was mr. frantz and he and his wife were having marital issues. i went back home and did something. then i got called back to take the test by a freshman named... i forgot. mr. frantz was speaking in the chapel and everyone had to go, except for me and a couple others who were taking tests. when i got there, there were others in the room singing songs and things, but i just decided to take it anyway. they left. i didn't finish the test before mrs. storrs came in and started telling me that mr. frantz might have a divorce with his wife, and she started crying. she started hugging me and crying. then we went somewhere else, and there was snoopy there. there was also a random stripper without her clothes on who was "streaking." then snoopy got a little coat on, then i got a phone call from the freshman who said she didn't have clothes on either, and told me how mr hoages class didn't have anybody take tests today. i asked who it was, and she told me. i rememberd i had to go take the test. then i woke up.
i do have to go take this test!
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| I take this break from Organic Chemistry to share some quick reflections on the CD called "Share the Well" by Caedmon's Call (CC).
If you are unaware, this album was created by the band Caedmon's Call after a trip to India, Brazil and Ecuador. Most notably, they took on the issues of the Dalit, or the outcaste, of the Hindu caste system. I recently went to Nepal, where the Hindu caste system is strong and living. On my return, a friend who had been to India himself recommended the album to me. I thank him, and Caedmon's Call, for their music, I'm a fan.
However, as I was listening to the song that inspired the name of the album, I was struck. As I was in Nepal, it was suggested to me that the Dalits are similar to Blacks in America, along with other minorities. While we have no certain word for "untouchability" in the U.S.A., there certainly is a line between the majority of Whites and Blacks. If you deny it, you must open your eyes to your communities. In Winston-Salem, where I live, US-52 runs north and south through the city and it's suburbs. This "52 divide" is the visible line between the majority of Whites and Minorities in our town. Not only is it a difference of skin color of light vs. dark, it is also an issue of economic differences.
The Nepali word for "untouchable" is paani nachalne, which means "no movement of water" meaning water cannot be shared with these people because of their identity and inferior status. Jesus Christ asked an untouchable of his time, a Samaritan, to give him water (this is craziness for a high status person to ask a low status person in Nepal, or India, today). He went on to say that physical water is only temporary, but he offers eternal water that truly satisfies.
Just in case you are not aware, water is essential to life. Our body weight is 70-75% water; not only this, but water is essential for the ATP production and energy. Without it, we die within days. Not only this, but clean water is essential to life. I have heard that the single greatest achievement in health care was the piping and purification of water. Many children and adults die due to dirty water. Clearly, health and life is directly related to water.
While the "untouchables" in India and Nepal are denied the water of the village and have to work harder to find water to live, Minorities are denied "water" here in America too. I argue that the "well" of health care is not being shared with the Minorities here in America. One must have the status of a high paying salary, and wealthy family to receive good health care. If you look at this websitehttp://www.meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/data_files/publications/cb2/cb2.shtml published by the US Department of Health and Human Resources, you will find the quoted text below:
"Who has coverage and who doesn't?
Black and Hispanic Americans were more likely than whites to be
uninsured. Blacks were the most likely to be publicly insured, while
whites were the most likely to have private coverage.
Less than half of all Hispanics and blacks had private health insurance, compared to three-fourths of whites. Over one-fifth of all Hispanics and over one-fourth of blacks had only public insurance, compared to one-tenth of whites. Hispanics and blacks were much more likely than whites to be uninsured.
Health insurance, all ages
 "
Clearly, there is a difference of ethnicity in health care in the USA, and please don't tell me it has anything to do with morality, laziness, or attitude. I believe this has to do with history and systematic racism, just like the untouchability of Dalits does.
As long as we allow the government to deny free health care to its citizens, we encourage the reign of the capitalism's class/caste system. We are no better than the high caste Brahmins and Chetri's who will not share the well with Dalits.
It is easy for you or me, or Caedmon's Call, to travel to India and Nepal and say "of course they should share the well!" Yet, as long as we are NOT Indian or Nepali, it is hard to tell those families how to change and what to do. Instead, I implore to stand up to the caste system here in America, and tell the Government, and your family, to share the well of health care.
And now back to Organic Chemistry for me...
Oh and by the way, my favorite song on the album is "Bombay Rain." The new band-member named Andy Osenga reminds me of Paul Simon so much it makes my skin tingle. This song brings together different places of the world, which points to that all humans on earth are "dying of the same disease" as a friend recently told me.
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| I usually go against the grain when it comes to angry about my circumstances. Usually, they don't phase me! I try to roll with the punches. But right now, I'm actually doing the "normal thing" to do when the expectations of are not met: pissed off.
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| I'm doing a take-home test for Medical Anthropology. For some reason, mostly procrastination, I started looking at old pictures from the surgery room in Galmi. It amazes me how it did not bother me then: the blood, the fecal matter, the flesh, the intestines, the sutures, etc. Only one time did I feel light headed while watching surgery and that was during the draining of blood and a dead fetus tissue after a miscarriage brought about by an STD. But looking at the pictures now: Oh man! My stomach churns. | | |
| I went onto the Nickel Creek myspace page, and "Doubting Thomas" started playing. It reminded me of when I had it playing on my xanga page and I decided to write a bit since it's been a while.
The reason I have written so little is that every time I start to write on xanga, my brain freezes and my fingers stop. I wish I could write my thoughts. But I find that my thoughts are empty. They are more "nothoughts" than thoughts. They are like empty storage containers. The nothought doors are labeled "child slavery," "sickness in third world countries," "the Church," and more, but when I try to open those doors, I can't. They are a vacuum.
so... i'll try again later.
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