Member-only story
Do We, as a Society, Belong in Hell
Exploring us…
I know this isn’t the season for such questions, but seriously, I have to ask.
Yes, currently, families are coming together (or as much as they can given the circumstances), people are being more generous than usual, we are exercising being good more than we would if it wasn’t the ‘Christmas’ season. But can we take a better look at ourselves? Honest, hard look at ourselves?
I am in the ‘charity’ sector (I know I’ve explained that the sector has many names, so I won’t go into that right now) and this is the busiest time of the year for anyone like me. Just before Christmas and until a few days after the New Year, we are swamped. So I am writing this on the go, feeling a little angrier than usual, so feeling really angry.
There are three categories of people that need help without a doubt: 1. Children, 2. Elderly, 3. Sick. In this article, I’d like to focus on the third category, the sick. What is wrong with us if we lose sympathy for the sick? I mean, there is something really wrong with our healthcare system.
I know this is a big issue for many countries. In Bosnia, in addition to the common issues, we have a corruption problem as well. I kid you not, and this is no exaggeration, medical professionals expect ‘a gift’, i.e. a bribe if you want care in a healthcare institution. It is so cold, so inhuman, I am surprised it hasn’t turned their blood blue.
At times like this, it is common for us normal human beings to wonder where is God. Why doesn’t God intervene? As I wondered, I realised if God was to intervene to make this world, the world that we have messed up so much, more just, God would probably make it so that only the rich get sick. And, depending on how much healthcare you can afford, that’s how sick you (and your family) should get. Hey, that’s what we are asking for, right? Poor people should never ever get sick because they can’t afford healthcare in the system that we have created. So if God was to fix the errors that we have created, He would protect the poor from any illness, and throw all illnesses at the rich.
Some will read this and like the idea, others will hate the idea and think it is unjust because, when it comes down to it, we all value health over and above everything else. However, we just happen to value our health, but not the health of others. When it comes to others, we’re getting to a point where we’ll ask them to stop complaining about being ill unless they can afford healthcare, of course.
It made me wonder if we, as a society, have turned into dry twigs. I mean, we seem to have lost all soul. We have no emotions, just like dry twigs. And what are dry twigs good for? Nothing except a good fire. So… Hell! Is that where we belong?