The ongoing saga…

 The Great – As I travel abroad, it is clear that the people of the world still like – in general – Americans even while they are increasingly disgusted by our government on both sides of the aisle.

The Good – Traveling abroad and not having access to any of the news stations!  Oh what a relief it is!!

 The Bad – The divisions that have evolved in our nation with everyone moving to their respective corners and – rather than listening – they are inserting ear plugs.  Listening to hollow echoes by talking with ourselves or others who parrot our perspectives will never solve problems. 

The Ugly – Twitter is increasingly used as a tool to disparage and denigrate – two approaches that are not long-term effective strategies for leaders of any political perspective – and, I’ve seen it used on both sides of aisle unfortunately.  For many years, I’ve said (ask those who work with me): “Email, and tools like it, are useful for sharing information and horrible at creating dialogue and solving problems.”  Our leaders – across the spectrum – need to learn that adage.

The ongoing saga…

The Good – The rising tide of consciousness as we move toward 2020 – a pivotal year for the future of our nation.

 The Bad – There were too many to choose from – so I gave up! 

The Ugly – The treatment of Bahamian people – let alone the Puerto Ricans – is abominable!

The ongoing saga… 

The Good – Consider watching this National Public Television spot on the “good news” of health care.   

The Bad – The heat is breaking all sorts of records all over the world from traditional hot places (e.g. Phoenix) to Europe to the Arctic Circle where the glaciers are melting 100x faster than originally anticipated – but, there’s no global warming…

The Ugly – Friday, August 2^nd marks the date when the US is set to fully withdraw from the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Agreement with Russia.  The withdrawal means that both nations will now be on the precipice of starting another nuclear arms race.  It’s actually more than ugly!

The ongoing saga…

 The Great – A research study in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology notes that mustaches reduce the risk of lip cancer in men with a “16X lower risk for developing actinic keratosis” compared to men without the bushy stuff on their lips.  Whoa – not only does it make me look a bit more distinguished but, it’s healthier too! I guess I’ll keep mine for another year or so although it’s starting to look a bit grayer than in years past.

The Good – The Carol Emmott Fellowship Program has embarked on a new “Equity Collaborative” program.  The purpose is to have health care systems come together and measure themselves against pre-defined criteria on the number of women health care leaders they have in place.  It’s about time.  The time has come, and an equity collaborative will stimulate the system…  We’ll keep tabs on the results…

 The Bad – The continuing ethic, racial and geographic disparities (See notes above) that exist across the nation which have not been resolved.  We need to fight for those who have no voice. We need health care for all but, in addition to equity, we need efficiency and effectiveness.  It’s up to those of us in health care to set the bar then, set it higher when we reach that goal.  Let’s not be passive bystanders to others who may not know health care. 

The Ugly – The growing divide in the USA with everyone seemingly going to their respective corners.  Such ongoing divisiveness can only hurt us over the longer term and the sowing of such divisiveness by all parties needs to stop.  It’s time for the silent, centrist types to speak up…