What is the Point of Leisure?

           The online dictionary form Merriam-Webster defines leisure as “freedom provided by the cessation of activities: time free from work or duties”. The point of leisure cannot be singularly defined; it is relative to each person and even to different cultures. It can be a time that one reserves for themselves, just to relax, be alone, and do what one pleases without having to worry about anything or anyone else. Or this free time can be used to be with family and friends, to take a trip, read, or just about anything as long as it is the choice of the person. It seems that that is the whole point of leisure; to be able to choose what one wants to do and who to spend the time with. And this time away from work and other tasks is very important in the lives of individuals and in their cultures. Both the United States and Italy enjoy leisure time.

The concept of leisure in the United States is somewhat odd. Free time from work is something that people desire, however having too much free time is often looked at as being lazy or not ambitious enough. In our society, one is taught that one must work, and work long and hard to get ahead. And this is true to some extent. However when work and the pursuit of money gets in the way of important things such as family and leisure, it can do harm. Gaudium et Spes stresses the importance of cultivating a person’s mind not only through formal education but also through cultural experience. The text states, “A man is more precious for what he is than for what he has”. In our culture of constant work and little leisure time this can sometimes be difficult for people to do. Relating to this the document also says, “It happens too often, however, even in our days, that workers are reduced to the level of being slaves to their own work. This is by no means justified by the so-called economic laws.” Our cultures leisure time also seems (not for all but for some) to revolve around individual and inside activities such as watching TV or playing video games. In limited quantities these are fine, but they seem to differ from the normal Italian concept of leisure.

From observing people in Rome and other Italian cities it appears as though the Italian concept of leisure differs slightly from our own. First, the work life is not as prolonged as in the U.S., there is time for Italians to do other things besides constantly work. It has also been noticed that free time sometimes means sitting down to a cappuccino with a friend or family member and talking. Of course we also do that in the U.S., however here it seems part of the everyday routine. Chapter ten in Barzini’s book The Italians is titled the “Pursuit of Life”. Even though often time’s leisure will not let one acquire more money, it gives the opportunities to gain more important things and to pursue not just an existence, but a life.

Are We In Control of Our Health?

    Do we have complete control of our health? Some argue that there are measures that one can take to stay in good health. This is true, there are many ways to keep our bodies healthy, eating right and excersing just being two of those ways. However, despite all these precautions that some people take, there is always the chance that some unexplained and unexpected health crisis may arise. Family history may also be a leading factor in certain cases. Even some work environments can create health situations that are not always completely in our control.
     I would argue that while it is good to do healthy things, these do not always guarantee that we will stay healthy. Take something such as cancer. There are many different kinds of cancer, and while some are linked to certain things such as smoke inhalation or too much sun exposure, many forms are out of our control. If we know our family histories than certain preventive care measures may be taken but this does not always mean safe passage. And the funny thing about diseases is that they do not care if you are rich or poor, educated or not, previously healthy or not; they can happen to anyone. This is also where health insurance comes into play.  The article "Access to Universal Health Care Is a Human Right" stated that "the uninsured have an average credit card debt of $14,512 in medical debt and those with insurance have $10,973." So, if an uninsured or less than wealthy individual finds themselves ill with a serious disease, what are they to do? How can they pay for treatment they need and that may save them?  
     Ancient civilizations made attempts to keep the people as healthy as possible so they could remain strong. Rome constructed aqueducts to bring clean water to the city for its citizens. They also created huge public bath houses that the citizens could use to help keep clean but also as prescriptions from the doctors of the time.
     Then there are those who are born with serious illnesses. These cases are definitely beyond the control of the individual. Although being able to access the best care and medication certainly helps manage their diseases better so they can stay as healthy as possible. But still even with treatment, nothing is set in stone.
    Finally, some work environments also can contribute to health situations; sometimes for the better and sometimes not. Sitting down all day long in front of a computer is not only boring for many people but it is also bad for posture and does not do anything to burn off the day's lunch and snacks. In these cases it may not be the actual work so much as the hours put in, the U.S. works more hours than most other nations, and this is not necessarily a good thing. Other dangerous work environments could include mines and places where people are exposed to harmful substances. Of course many might ask why would anyone want to work in a place that could be bad for their health. This could be a choice, but for others it may be the only job that they were able to get or keep. In these situations their health may be out of their control.
   
     

GL Prompt: Italian Culture

How does the piazza provide a lens towards Italian culture? An interesting question. One thing that I have noticed since being in Rome, and that we discussed in class, was the absence of yards. In U.S. neighborhoods it is common for people to get together either inside someone’s home or, when it’s nice outside, in the yard. These open green spaces are our meeting places to discuss the latest news, who moved where, and anything else that would come to mind. However, here in Rome, people do not have yards, they have the piazzas.

 So far I have seen a fair number of piazzas. The ones that I have seen in Rome are full of significant churches, cafes, fountains, statues, and other buildings. They are elaborately decorated and are full of people, Italians and tourists alike. All of the showiness brings to mind passages from the book The Italians by Luigi Barzini. He said that when it comes to outward appearance, whether that be in dress or in the style of the piazza, Italians like these things to look nice, to almost distract from other negative aspects of life that are not controllable. However appearances are. When he spoke of St. Peter’s Barzini said, “one begins to understand, at a certain point, that it is not only a great basilica, a place of worship, the seat of the Holy Roman Church, but also the dramatic representation of all this. One discovers that it is not merely designed to inspire religious emotions but also to impress the onlooker with the power, the majesty, the wealth and the solidarity of the Church and, therefore, the glory of God himself.” He moves on from this example to point out that there is a second level to everything, much of it is done to impress, at least according to Barzini.

On the other hand, I think it is difficult to gain insight into the Italian culture from observing the piazza. In many of these there are so many tourists that they almost crowd out the Romans themselves. And along with the tourists are those who are constantly trying to sell products or draw someone in to their restaurant. Piazza Navona comes to mind. The square is adorned with three fountains, beautiful churches, cafes, statues, museums, and people. So it is easy to see what Barzini talks about as far as trying to make an impression goes, but yet part of me wonders if this is really the Roman culture. If there were not so many blundering tourists would the café owners and employees behave in the same forward way? Would there even be men following people around saying “Selfie? Selfie?” It makes me wonder about the less crowded areas of Rome, or the smaller towns around it like Castel Gandolfo. In the square in this small town, it seems to be quiet normally. Of course there are people, but most of them seem to know each other. The restaurant and café owners do not try to lead you inside their buildings, they may say bonjourno and leave it at that.

It’s hard to compare the piazza of the big city to the one in the small town, but still it all makes me wonder…is one more authentic than the other or do they both equally represent the culture of Italy?  

Soc 490: U.S. Hospitals and American Health

It seems that there are many reasons for why people from all over the world would want to come to U.S. hospitals such as the Cleveland Clinic. They may have a rare disease, they may be on a waiting list in their own nation, or maybe they are just wealthy enough to afford the expense of being treated in the U.S. Whatever the reason is, there are many people who want to be seen in U.S. hospitals to be made healthy again. However, there is somewhat of a paradox here. While people do come from all over the world to be treated in American hospitals, large portions of the American population remain unhealthy or untreated and as a result the U.S. lags behind some other nations in health care status even though we have some of the best hospitals.

Certain hospitals and procedures are financially out of reach for some Americans who do not have adequate health coverage. In the article, “The U.S. Health Care System Needs to Change” the author, Ben Furnas said, “Since 1994, the cost per person of American health care has more than doubled…fueled by rising costs of prescription drugs, inefficient outpatient care, expensive and unnecessary medical procedures, and ballooning insurance premiums, these costs are a burden on state and federal governments, businesses, and families” (23). Even though we may have some of the best hospitals in the world many cannot get access to them.

In an article written by Clark Newhall called “Too Many People Do Not Have Health Insurance” he stated, “We don’t have a health care problem. We don’t have a health care crisis. What we have is a health care famine”(36). What he means by a health care famine is that the opportunity for coverage is available, but not enough people are able to afford it and therefore use it. In class we brought up the issues that people have when it comes to the possibility of the government regulating and distributing healthcare. However we also discussed how health care was already regulated and distributed, it is just done by health insurance companies. They are able to either approve or deny procedures or medications based on their discretion; however by denying preventative care measures in the present, a person may need more expensive treatments in the future if they do end up becoming sick. This ends up costing the insurance company and the patient more money at a later time.

Sometimes people bring up this point: they say that the American lifestyle is a very unhealthy one compared to other nations especially when it comes to nutrition. There may be some validity to this; it would be in everyone’s best interest to eat better, exercise more and generally avoid the things that are bad for us. I will not argue against this. However, this cannot be the only point with which someone can argue. When comparing the U.S. to other nations that have adopted some sort of universal healthcare system, our health numbers fall behind in things such as life expectancy, newborn infant mortality rates, and others. This cannot all be due to lifestyle differences. The difference is that more people, in the nations that we fall behind to, have access to affordable healthcare.

Despite the fact that the U.S. has some of the best hospitals in the world and people come from all over the world to use them, our population is not overall the healthiest. Many do not have adequate coverage or any coverage at all. Some of our own best hospitals are not financially available for some Americans to use. 

Global Learning: Prompt 3

  "Do not let your love be a pretense, but sincerely prefer good to evil. Love each other as much as brothers should, and have a profound respect for each other…Do all you can to live at peace with everyone." -The Letter of Paul to the Church in Rome

   The major religions of the West, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, all promise salvation after death. All of these religions reach back in to ancient history; they are linked together, yet there is fighting between them and even within them. Could it be that their related history yet different doctrines gets in the way of faith, does it limit it? Or would history help contribute to faith? 

    The letters of St. Peter and St. Paul both urge Christians to love their neighbor no matter what; St. Peter said to the churches "have respect for everyone and love for our community" (The Smiles of Rome, 75).  Throughout history, and not only Christian history but history in general, the major religions of the West have fought, sometimes quite viciously, against each other despite the fact that the three each claim to have Abraham as their origin. It does not seem as if history should limit faith, people continue to believe in God. Although, it is true that there are some who look at all of the horrible things that happen and unfortunately give up their beliefs because of the actions of some that supposedly shared their beliefs in love and respect but do terrible things. So really, it does seem that history, the violent parts, can get in the way of loving one another due to those past (and continuing) conflicts and therefore limit some peoples’ faith. When someone has personally been affected because of religious conflicts, past and present, it would seem as if this would make it harder to follow the advice of the saints to love one another as if they were our brother or sister. Nothing is simple.

     On the other hand, history can also contribute to faith. If one studies the doctrines of their faith, and those of the others, one can find among the differences, some similarities. One God, the themes of love and justice, and future salvation are some of these similarities. History, at the very least, can also be used to inspire us today. The stories of the saints and their lives and deaths can be sources of inspiration to examine our own faith and relationship to God and to other people. As Margaret Visser reflects in her writing, The Geometry of Love, visiting churches or other sacred places can have a profound impact not only on believers but those who thought they were just there to take pictures as well. She said, “a church…is meaningful-absolutely nothing in it is without significance…a church stands in total opposition to the narrowing and flattening of human experience…the building has been made in order to communicate with the people in it” (94-95). The experience of looking at and touching a piece of history should not leave someone with empty feelings but rather remind them of everyone who believed before them, when it was just as difficult.

      It is possible that history has the potential to limit one’s faith, especially if someone is personally affected by the cruelty that people can sometimes show to each other. However, history also has the ability to make us more responsive to our faith, or if nothing else, to inspire us.

Healthcare as a Privilege: 490 Prompt 2

   In his article, "Health Care Is Not a Right" Leonard Peikoff stated, "all legitimate rights have one thing in common: they are rights to action, not to rewards from other people. The American rights impose no obligation on other people…the system guarantees you the chance to work for what you want-not to be given it without effort by somebody else."

  As human beings we are obligated (even though we do not always follow this) to do nothing to harm our fellow human beings; this includes infringing upon the rights of a professional to employ his services as he chooses. To view health care as a right that people have just for being human means that we would have to treat everything else in the same way; things such as clothing, food, and really anything else that would make someone happy. But how is happiness determined since everyone has a different opinion of what it would take to make them happy? If we switched happiness with health care it would have to be measured and distributed by a third party who may or may not know exactly what to do or how much to allow for. Adding that extra party, in this case maybe the government or another insurance company even, it takes away from what the doctor is trying to do, which is to offer his relatively rare services to others. As a professional offering services that others need, he has the right to choose how much he wants to charge for these things, who he wants to serve, and what treatment to give them. If we say that health care is a right and that everybody will get it, and get an equal part of it, then we must also somehow control how our physicians run their businesses which imposes on their rights and privileges. Is it right for us to tell them how much they can charge for services that not that many people can offer, and after they have gone through nearly a decade of schooling for? If this were any other small business people would not be so eager to see it controlled.
 
  In turn there would not be much incentive for most people to work if they could get what they wanted, or even needed, for free or almost free. What some fail to realize is that nothing is really free of cost even if we are not directly billed, someone must shoulder the burden. In terms of health care this would be the government and therefore, the taxpayers. It is argued that the for profit system that is in place now makes and keeps healthcare costs at high levels. However, in the article, "Treating Health Care as a Human Right Would Increase Health Care Costs" Donal J. Boudreaux says, "healthcare, although highly desirable, differs fundamentally from these rights. Because providing healthcare takes scarce resources, offering it free at the point of delivery would raise its cost and reduce availability."As mentioned above, to offer it as a right to everyone, healthcare would somehow need to be controlled, by the government, which would take more tax dollars.

  Healthcare, just like any other business, offers a service to people who want or need it. And just like any other product that we want, we should also consider this a privilege that we work for and not something that is just given out for free to everyone.

Global Learning 2

GL Post 2

   My reaction to Rome was not quite what I expected it to be. I had very mixed feelings for it the first week  that we were here. I was expecting to fall completely in love with it like people at home told me I would, they said I would not want to come back home. I do like Rome, I am not in love with it, I am not feeling the things that Barzini talks about in his book, I am not under a spell. Barzini also said, "everybody, or almost everybody, seems to be doing his job with whole-hearted dedication and enthusiasm is what impresses travelers". We talked in class about facial expressions and their importance, but how we were not sure what to make of stern faces on employees and how this quote did not seem to fit what we were seeing. I know it's not their intention to make this happen but I find the stern faces somewhat intimidating and contrary to Barzini.
   What I like about most big cities, and especially about Rome, are the buildings. I did not grow up around a lot of big structures all so close together so with any city I like the buildings. Rome's buildings are especially interesting because of their age and style, in the States we have some old buildings but not ancient ones, at least not really in the cities. I find the transportation to be both oppressive and  exhilarating; on the one hand it is fun to take a train to Rome and other areas and to navigate the metro and bus systems because it is so different from what we are used to. But on the other hand it is sometimes a pain to have to wait an hour or so for the next train ride or to watch the wrong bus stop in front of you and then keep going on to a location that you are not going to. What is especially oppressive about the transportation system has to do with the people, there are so many all trying to fit into one train car or one bus. On top of worrying about being smashed against someone you do not want to be smashed against, you also have to worry about someone trying to steal something from you. I have never been so nervous at the sight of a group of middle school age kids as I am here. I feel bad making assumptions about people but I would rather be safe than sorry.
   Another thing that I find to be really oppressive are the hundreds of people trying to sell merchandise on every street corner, especially because they do not just stand there and quietly offer, but they try to put things in your hands.One of the most oppressive things in Rome, in my opinion, is the language barrier. It is really difficult and limiting when you cannot ask for simple things such as directions or food. However at the same time it is kind of exhilarating not being able to just easily ask for things, it makes us more independent I think because we have to rely more on ourselves than other people. Not being able to communicate properly means we have to figure things out on our own for the most part, I think it is a great learning experience but at the same time it is sometimes frustrating.
 

Comparative Healthcare Prompt 1

            The subject of universal health care is always a bit sensitive. Some have strong reactions not only when people ask if we should implement it or not but also when we are asked if access to healthcare is a human right or a privilege that one must work for and earn. On one hand if a person says they are for universal health care and that it is a right, they are in danger of appearing on the socialist side of the board and to many, almost anti-American. However, the other who decidedly claims that health care is something that is earned through working can sound very cold. After taking many history and theology courses at Walsh and reading much of Gaudium et Spes I have come to believe that healthcare is a human right.

            While I do believe that health care is a human right, I do not believe it is right for people who deliberately harm their own bodies to expect remedies, medications, and surgeries to be free or nearly free. This is where I do not think healthcare is a right because somewhere a choice was actively made by someone to do something that would eventually lead to health consequences. On the other hand, for people who are sick through no fault of their own, and who require frequent doctor visits and expensive medications, the idea of paying for all that on their own or with minimal insurance, is laughable. In Universal Health Care in chapter 2 the article “Access to Health Care is a Human Right” the author says that among those who are chronically ill but have insurance often still have debt due to medical bills. And for those without insurance it is even worse. For illnesses that cannot be helped or cured, is it right to expect those people to pay for, or try to pay for, extremely expensive things that they cannot live without?

            Gaudium et Spes makes points about all men having dignity and universal rights as human beings. It states “there must be made available to all men everything necessary for leading a life truly human, such as food, clothing, and shelter; the right to choose a state of life freely and to found a family, the right to education, to employment, to a good reputation, to respect, to appropriate information, to activity in accord with the upright norm of one's own conscience, to protection of privacy and rightful freedom even in matters religious.” Part of leading a “truly human life” involves being healthy enough to be able to find work, earn a living, and all of those sorts of things. For some people, actually most people at one point or another in their lives, staying healthy means receiving some sort of medical treatment. It would take a huge chunk of someone’s salary to pay for some treatments, extra money most people do not have. The document also calls man to look out for one another, recognizing that all have dignity; everyone must consider everyone his neighbor without exception as another self”.  After having said all this I do not advocate for any type of socialist government or a completely socialized form of healthcare, but nor do I think it should stay the way it is. There has to be another way that could maybe use elements of both systems that would lesson the burden on patients and taxpayers as well.

            I believe health care is a human right, I was not always of this opinion, but after taking classes from Walsh and learning more about it from the church’s perspective, I have come to believe it is right.