>
>> The US health system by itself is not at fault, it's the
>>people in it who are mainly interested in their personal benefit,
>>mostly monetary. It may be due to our never having been run over
>>and enslaved by the Norse, the Gauls, the Romans, the Spanish,
>>the French, the Germans, the Soviets, etc. That sort of
>>experience tends to unite a people to a common cause, hence the
>>dominance of socialist economies and governments in Europe and
>>the demonisation of socialism here in the colonies.
>
>
>That's a pretty interesting analysis. The USA has always been a
>collection of factions. From the very founding of the colonies to
>sectionalism to modern-day urban vs. suburban vs. rural divisions. We
>fight amongst ourselves because there isn't any existential threat
>binding us together. If there was a medical crisis that hit us, the
>equivalent to the plagues, which required a singular approach to
>universal health care, I believe we'd do it in a heartbeat with no
>turning back. But there isn't, so we won't.
>
We actually did have a series medical crises, mostly outbreaks of Yellow
Fever in the 19th century, one of which began around New Orleans and spread up
the Mississippi to Saint Louis, killing more than 20,000. The book "The
American Plague: The Untold Story of Yellow Fever" by Molly Crosby provides a
good history of the event. It arrived here from Africa by way of the slave
trade, and the last outbreak was in 1905.
Prior to that, the two strains of Malaria that continue to exist along the
Gulf and Atlantic coasts as far north as Washington DC were a serious problem
in the early years of European colonisation, even though one or more strains
exists in the estuary of the River Thames and other areas in Europe. About 90%
of Europeans died from this, which prompted the beginnings of the slave trade
as African natives had evolved with Malaria and were fairly immune to the
American strains. The book "1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created"
by Charles Mann gives painful details about this era of American history.
Chris
When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro
- Hunter S. Thompson
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