Study of the Week Takes a Pause
The NEJM published a paper last week that may change the future of medical evidence. It is seriously important.
But today is Memorial Day in the US. It is not time to analyze papers.
It is time to remember and honor those who gave their life in the service of this country.
I travel a fair amount and one of the moments that I enjoy—no matter how tired—is when the border guard at passport control says…'“welcome home.” It reminds me of something that is easy to take for granted.
It seems too obvious to write, but America struggles today with its many divisions. The social fabric, at least in some places, is under stress. Social media intensifies the debate. In fact, to intensify is the business model of social media.
Yet people still want to come to the US. When I turn off my phone and visit people in real life, things are normal. And our institutions have held through a trying 3 years.
Think for a moment what it means for a young person to die for their country. Maybe some of you have had health scares. You begin to feel your mortality. It is a lot.
Then you think of all the young people who actually died for this country. Dead and gone. All that future.
They gave their life to defend many of the freedoms being tested today. The right to protest; the right to disagree, and to tolerate speech that we hate. The rule of law.
And the ability of a person like David Velasquez, the son of two formerly undocumented, non-English speaking immigrant parents who slept in the attic of a church for 2 years when they first arrived in the U.S., to gain multiple degrees from Harvard.
I speak for myself, but I suspect many in the Sensible Medicine community are grateful for the wisdom of Washington, Madison, Franklin, Jefferson, Hamilton and the other delegates of the constitutional convention in creating the foundation of this great country.
A place so great that young people would be willing to die for. That is worth remembering today.
Once during my Army days I was talking with a friend from one of the Ranger battalions about some of his experiences. He didn't spend much time talking about battles and blood; instead, he reflected on the way things are for many people in the world, the regimes they live under, the instability and violence they face. After a few moments he went silent. Then he looked me in the eye, and said, with deep sincerity "I tell you...I'm just so grateful to be an American."
We are so lucky, in so many ways. I never want to take it for granted. Thanks for sharing your thoughts today, Dr. M.
I whole heartedly agree. I am so grateful to this country for making it possible for a lower middle class woman in the 1980s to become a doctor - my passion. Also, let’s remember that a lot of our medical knowledge we use especially in the OR was invented and used on the battlefield first by brave and dedicated military doctors.