“Souls come forth on Earth to execute the work of their ancestors.”
-“The Book of the Master of the Hidden Places”
It has been quite a while since I posted any of my creative work online. The last, Hot Vanilla Tea (Thé Chaud à la Vanille dans le premier Arrondissement), was the inaugural piece from my anthology of travel essays. There are valid factors as to why. In short, last year I had the unfortunate luck of falling ill and then being injured after suffering an IV accident while in a Las Vegas hospital. So, the motivating reason for this communication actually stems from the subject of this account.
The catalyst for this post concerns disheartening news I learned this past week. While en route to Costco, I learned of the sudden death of a brilliant man who happened to be a stellar doctor of medicine. It occurred in New York State; miles away from the southwest. Yet upon hearing of his unfortunate passing, the news hit hard and very close to my heart. America’s lost another one…we can’t afford to lose many more…
You see, with some individuals, a person dies and it only effects those around them, the people who knew them personally. With other individuals, when they perish, a societal diminishment occurs. It is as if a vital component in our collective daily lives goes dark. Their absence amongst the survivors is not only felt by relatives and friends but reverberates throughout society. The latter is one such time.
How does one come to recognize these unfortunate shifts in a nation?
As a young child I underwent a biopsy on a cyst located on my left foot. The cause of the cyst turned out to be Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. At that point in time, unbeknownst to young me, the cyst had been suspected as being cancerous. Hence, many dolls and attention with seemingly unlimited trips to Toys R Us during this period of my childhood occurred. It stemmed from Florida (with the grandparents) to my hometown of San Francisco, California. As an aside, a trip to the infamous Haight Street for me was the promise of H. Salt Esq. after a necessary weekly visit to San Francisco Children’s hospital. If I sat still for what seemed like a weekly blood draw, a reward was earned. Leaving the hospital, I knew I was in for a treat as one edge of Golden Gate Park greeted me. We next passed a McDonald’s adjacent to a bowling alley. These landmarks alerted me that we were on the final leg to the delicious fish and chips restaurant chain.
Yet I digress…
I share this background health information to establish the advent of what has been my extensive association with U.S. medical practitioners, their facilities, the support staff and myriad hospitals. This has been a lifelong affair which regrettably has turned quite sordid in recent years. To my growing alarm and utter dismay, I’ve been a firsthand witness to experiencing in real time the internal implosion of a once promising healthcare system that did, at one point in time, offer at least a pathway leading to more than adequate access to bona fide medical care.
Indeed, my current infirmed health stems from a botched surgical procedure performed by a hack surgeon well past his prime resulting in a five day stay in a mediocre hospital that caused an IV injury when the IV lead burst. My now impaired right hand, wrist and arm still suffer from the incurred IV damages of a neurotoxin being erroneously released into my muscles. I’m currently awaiting a scheduled surgery date with a hand specialist. Time is still of the essence since there is significant muscle loss to my right thumb. This condition directly stems from the IV injury. The longer it goes untreated, I’ve been told there is a very real danger of permanent loss of all movement to my thumb.
No one cares but the hand specialist, friends and relatives and of course, myself. Having Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis, I’m used to persistent pain. However, I do not want to lose the use of my right thumb. To date, as this is being written (with now needed assistance), the hospital has neglected to correct their obvious, detrimental mistake (their damaging my body). Only through my personal diligence and self-advocacy was I able to attain an appointment with the aforementioned hand specialist.
The hospital injury occurred on August 16, 2025. I finally saw the hand specialist on February 28, 2026. Six months of pain, frustration and fear is what I had to endure just to see the appropriate doctor. And fortunately for me, he is of the same caliber as the late Dr. M. S. It was only then that I was informed that if I had neglected my injury, the significant loss of muscle mass in my thumb (which is visible) eventually would render the permanent loss of its use. Remember, this is the direct result of the hospital IV injury. To date, they have taken no responsibility on any level for their crime and damages done to my body. Forgoing all the obvious reasons why the loss of a digit would detrimentally affect any person, I am also a ‘right hand dominant’ writer. Let that sink in. This experience has shown me that access to what’s considered routine medical procedures in most U.S. states is almost impossible here in Southern Nevada.
Recently, I read an article in U.S. News and World Report where they ranked both Healthcare Access and Quality of Care in the United States. Nevada currently ranks 47th out of the 50 states. It is quite sobering for someone in my debilitated health predicament.
Further complications, for me, involve the seemingly inability to secure a proper diagnostic ultrasound paired with a mammogram. Yes, there is pain in my breast area and I am the only one who seems to be alarmed by its escalating discomfort. I am in need of surgery for that area of my body as well.
The pain in my left breast is so intense I basically (silently) cry myself to sleep every night now. This is partially due to the physical discomfort and mostly attributable to the emotional toll and mental duress by knowing there are procedures that can alleviate this pain and resolve whatever is the cause. But, I do not possess the proper insurance at the moment in order to undergo treatment. And because of the hospital IV injury, I’m unable to pay out of pocket. I’ve worked all my life. I’ve more than paid into the American system for well over 40 years (excluding my 3 – 4 years living abroad). Now, when I need it the most, what is occurring? A hospital injury has now rendered me into a forced semi-pauperization coupled with scant health insurance coverage that only keeps me alive and aware enough to know I require better medical access.
Being there is not much I can do as I’m presently of limited funds and not a healthcare practitioner, I can only attempt to best navigate through a wholly broken healthcare system in the hopes that I will attain the necessary medical care I need before my condition deteriorates into something requiring more drastic intervention or becomes irreparable.
As a peace of mind, I am currently taking herbal remedies and trying to stay as positive as possible under this highly stressful, painful and concerning situation.
As stated from the outset, my lifelong Rheumatoid Arthritis has afforded me to experience the slow decline and now failed American healthcare system in real time. I can state with emphatic confidence the well-known Hippocratic Oath, concerning today’s vast majority of U.S medical practitioners, is now a solid palimpsest. The new written text reads: The Corporate Bottom line. This strongly applies to Southern Nevada. Unfortunately, I can firmly attest to that as factual.
Please do not mistake this post as an unbridled harangue born out of frustration and medical negligence resulting in constant, escalating physical pain. No. I merely relay my above health status in order to show I truly do appreciate physicians such as the late Dr. M. S. This post is about him and those of his caliber who are no longer shown appropriate appreciation by modern society. And right now, what I wouldn’t give for an OBGYN akin to Dr. M. S. (who was an ER doctor). I’m not asking for stellar bedside manner. I’m just wishing for genuinely trustworthy skills capable of guiding me toward the road to a successful recovery thus curtailing my increasing breast aches.
Dr. M. S. is in a class of authentic physicians who dutifully fulfill their responsibilities then quietly slip away without ever receiving the proper acknowledgement and gratitude by the Americans they heal. As of late, the only healthcare news to make it to the national mainstream media with any traction are the numerous mistreatments and tragically, preventative deaths.
This pattern is unfortunately present in every single state of the Union these days. The stories are too numerous to recount in an account on a platform such as this. But, we are all more than familiar with them. The ongoing trial of Luigi Mangione is just one of the recent infamous cases. There is a reason why one health insurance company automatically rescinded an incoming policy to relegate a patient’s anesthesia during an operation after the United Healthcare CEO, Brian Thompson, was gunned down, killed, in December 2024; ironically in the streets of New York City. Think about that. In the end, everyone suffers one way or another.
Consider Mr. Thompson’s two young children who will never get to know their father as they grow up. If one stops for a moment and genuinely sees the world through their young eyes, you would be empathetic to their circumstance. Conversely, we should also acknowledge the many patients no longer alive or severely maimed (and now live less than qualitative lives) because of apathetic or inexperienced doctors more concerned about the high cost to properly treat the ill as opposed to returning them to health. This toxic combination is paired with the decisions of anonymous health insurance executives.
Please keep in mind, most of the time, these ‘executives’ do not hold medical degrees and have not practiced medicine at any point in time. As for the ones who stand contrary to that description, their allegiance is to their health insurance corporation. Whatever the catalyst of neglect, it all comes down to profit not the patient. The corporate business plan supersedes a qualitative human life; that is now the dictate, the motto, the standard operating practice. For the average American, wait times to see physicians, and specialists, can now extend into months. Furthermore, you as the patient better be eternally grateful for receiving a firm date as an appointment instead of being added to an extensive waitlist with no guarantee of being seen, much less treated in a timely manner. Collectively, especially pertaining to administering medical care, we are not in a good place as a nation.
The earlier practicing U.S. naturopaths would recoil at the reprehensible pattern that has now become almost status quo amongst most medical practitioners and their nameless, faceless handlers nesting within cubicles (and sometimes vaulted ‘corner offices’) of health insurance companies located across this nation. Somewhere, somehow along this twisted tale of woe and retribution, a virulent form of corporatization of medical care was insidiously born and has now matured into a many-tentacled nightmare of pain, frustration and many times unnecessary death.
Yet, let’s return back to the original topic at hand: the sudden passing of Dr. M. S.
I listened to a detailed recount how the deceased doctor’s sister received an early morning call from a matter-of-fact toned police officer who delivered the tragic news with methodical practice. A mental metaphor manifested. I couldn’t help but compare this to the ‘methodical’ dismantling of what passes for adequate access to basic medical care for a vast amount of Americans. To add insult to injury, the quality of the practicing physicians, nurses and support staff has significantly devolved. Whether it be their skill, communication or both. Dr. M. S. was from a time when medical practitioners had to prove their worth in order to practice. M. S. was there not because he craved empty accolades from greater society while doing as little as possible to satisfy his duties. No. He was there because that is where he was meant to be. He was not a willing minion to soul-challenged ingrates only concerned with the corporate bottom line.
You see, I’ve learned thus far in life that every individual is born with a skill. In a supportive culture, the person would be able to identify that skill, improve upon it early in life then use it to give back and improve the greater community. Sadly, today we are not that type of society. Yet, even still, there remain those such as Dr. M. S. who find a way, against the odds, to be where they need to be in order to improve upon the collective humanity. Now… he is no more. And, no one can replace a persona, expertise and valuable life experience such as all he possessed. His absence will be felt by more than just his family, friends and acquaintances. Those who ‘were to be’ and ‘could have been’ his patients have suffered his loss without even knowing it.
And still, it should be noted that even though I hold this deep sorrow and dismay at his passing, I have never personally met Dr. M. S. He never even knew of my existence. But, I have met his kind during my lifelong association with the U.S. medical and now healthcare industry.
Although the majority of the doctors I have interacted with as of late are severely lacking in skill, and in some cases even basic social etiquette, individuals such as Dr. M. S. have made a rare appearance in my medical journey. His kind were more numerous at the beginning, when I was a child. These are the doctors who held onto a service-to-others style of practice against all odds and despite the toll it took upon their own personal well-being. In fact, Dr. M. S. was constantly reading in order to improve upon his already adept skill at treating his patients. Indeed, in a roundabout way this is how he came into my sphere of awareness.
Several years ago while enjoying a nice afternoon at the home of his sister and brother-in-law, the former recounted a recent health scare that began with a slight allergic reaction to an unknown irritant. Unfortunately, her infirmed condition quickly escalated into being hospitalized where steadily she proceeded to enter a rapid health deterioration. Worried family members visited and pondered what could have brought on such a sudden, rapid decline in P. W.’s health condition.
At a first-class California hospital, with his sister’s condition worsening, a team of specialists remained totally flummoxed yet steadily, determinedly running tests with no diagnosis in sight. Dr. M. S. only needed a single discussion, over the phone, to proffer the proper diagnosis. This was attained after a series of seemingly random questions: ‘Before falling ill, were you working outside, in your backyard? Were you in a garage with any significant amount of stored boxes?’ And so it went. He determined her cause of ill health was most likely due to a spider bite. In fact, sight unseen, he named the very spider, a Brown Recluse. Its bite instigated her hospitalization. That was his summation. And, after some time passed, that was proven to be the cause of P. W.’s incapacitation by her California doctors. She was cured, returned home soon enough and went on to tell the tale that one lazy afternoon in the hills of Southern California.
It’s stories such as these that remind me there are still good people in the medical field. These people succeed in spite of their profession being overwhelmingly hindered by a highly corporatized, ‘profit first’ healthcare industry.
While celebrating the 250th year of the United States of America, it is imperative to consider how did so many of our institutions fall into such disrepair and despair? Our social cohesion has seen better days. Current food prices are soaring while dangerous pesticides and other harmful additives to our overall food and beverage supply persist to exist. A commercial property crisis has loomed on the horizon since 2008. Most of our major cities are quickly losing their world-class status as they suffer crime and rampant homelessness. Our collective demise did not begin ten years ago. Many believe it’s been a process of decades. Personally, I’d say the downward spiral began after our nation’s rejection of Henry C. Carey’s economic approach. That was in the mid-19th century, so following that event, it’s been centuries long.
Regardless of the actual length of time, financial misadventure is not the sole cause of our broken society. The other day, I watched a video on YouTube (We Didn’t Expect this When We Came Back from France). In this video a computer engineer out of Massachusetts described U.S. society in a brief, apt fashion: ‘The Hum’. This is the ‘hum’ our modern day stressful society produces and is immediately recognized and felt by the majority of returning Americans who’ve spent any significant amount of time abroad.
Although all Americans are subjected to ‘the Hum’, the longer the duration, or exposure to it, the more it settles into the background of life; hidden, silent, deadly and dehumanizing.
This YouTube channel creator spent 11 weeks in a small city in Northeastern France. His channel is aptly named: Chaos to Croissants. He’s currently in the process of attaining a French work visa, selling everything his family owns in order to fund their permanent move from a small city in Massachusetts to a small city in France for a variety of reasons. Healthcare is one.
In addition to the low cost and ease of access to medical care, respect is routinely accompanied with health treatment interactions. In France, there is a dignity in human expressions and courtesies which overcomes a language barrier and cultural differences regarding healthcare. I’d add Japan to the list as well.
The United States could learn valuable lessons on how to provide proper access and administer medical care from these two, older nations. Dr. M. S.’s demise is analogous to the slow rot, now a vigorously accelerated deterioration, of the entire U.S. medical care system when paired with the corrupt, health insurance industry. It’s as if his personal fate was inextricably tied to the destined failure of the very profession he successfully pursued here in the United States. His perishment is akin to the death of all the things that ‘could have been’ here in our nation. Those roads not taken yet would have resulted in the betterment of the majority of our citizens and not just a select few. This pertains to our financial and economic model, science, education, transportation, and government (local, state and national). There are examples out there with proven track records on how to institute then operate a society beneficial to all. The closest I’ve ever experienced is in East Asia.
In 2002, I relocated to Tokyo, Japan. It was a lifelong dream as I’ve held a deep fascination, intrigue and admiration for many Japanese cultural attributes. From the food, to the language, to various traditions, this was an achievement I’m most proud. Their entertainment is also something I love. Beyond the talented Manga artists such as Yoshihiro Tatsumi (the Charles Bukowski of manga), the cinematic achievements of their filmmakers have taught me lessons that I live by to this day. Case in point, every January I watch Masaki Kobayashi’s cinematic masterpiece The Human Condition. Adapted from Junpei Gomikawa’s six volume series about the Kwangtung Army towards the end of the Second World War, the main character Kaji represents one of the world’s best cinematic efforts depicting the utter futility of war.
Don’t get me wrong. Not everything was easy while working there, as most who live and work abroad experience while living in a country foreign to their own. However, what my time in Japan taught me overall is to respect something and its right to exist even when I may not like it. I’m referring to things that benefit the greater good and not just the individual. Also, I wholeheartedly appreciated their society’s dedication to meritocracy.
Their society’s social cohesion provides a high standard of safety, low crime and an abundance of trust. The latter extends into many social interactions that rarely constitute adversarial situations or generate forms of agitated stress. With close to 35 million people living in the greater Tokyo area (at that time), one would be hard pressed to find a native Tokyoite cutting the queue to board the train or jumping a line wherever there is one. That is just one example of many that I and a variety of others witnessed. The Japanese are also innovative in many areas.
While living in Japan, I came across music therapy with its exploratory and successful application in healing various ailments. This was 24 years ago. I also was introduced to the extensive use of ‘Structured’ water. The average human body is at least 50% to 65% water. Some of the medicinal techniques I learned were truly cutting edge. This was available to the general public. Referring back to meritocracy, it should be known there exists a major airport in Japan that has never lost a single passenger bag. Kansai airport serves the cities and region of Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe. Since their opening in 1994, they’ve maintained a zero lost luggage record. As of 2026, it still holds. This is an example when a society strives toward collective excellence.
In general, if you pull your weight and add to society, you are treated with both respect and dignity. Now, Japan does have its negative issues. However, from my experience the positive aspects most definitely outweigh the negative. Regarding access to medical care, that was never a problem. Good health is deemed a natural state of being not as a financial benefit or privilege. And even better, the Japanese approach to healthcare is preventative as opposed to the reactive U.S. medical standard. They do not merely treat the symptoms but concentrate on resolving the cause of the ailment.
More importantly, the Japanese medical care system does not seek to profit off the ill, elderly or disabled such as the United States healthcare industry fervently does. In my experience, here in the U.S., the more money and societal status one possesses determines the quality of care. That’s it. In essence, your worth is reduced to your bank account. It is totally transactional.
An American citizen navigating through the U.S. medical care system does not count for much at all. And for those who have a state funded insurance, such as Medicaid, it has been the majority of my encounters that your treatment by most hospital and overall medical staff is indicative of a hardened, murderous felon. And, they address you with such lack of respect, I truly do wonder if these individuals see Medicaid recipients as fellow human beings at all. The only respite I possess is having lived elsewhere and experiencing life in culturally mature nations such as Japan and France. Prior to living abroad, I used to believe in Ralph Waldo Emerson’s, “The first wealth is health”. But after undergoing a broader world experience and exposure to different cultures, I’m more in synch with Robert C. Beck’s belief: ‘health is a natural state, not a commodity’.
Little did I realize as a Lowell High school student, my studying the Japanese language at Soko Gakuen in San Francisco’s Japantown, then working in Japan for two years (2002 -2004) would instill something in me that would prove to be of great worth to my future self.
What is my “here” and “now”.
Those two experiences would ultimately translate into facilitating a self-confidence capable of sustaining my will to both survive and persevere against a highly adversarial and malicious foe, the U.S. Healthcare industry. This describes my current state of existence, at one of the most embattled and lowest points in my life. This practice can be summed up in one word: Nintai. It’s meaning? When a person continues forward without giving up. Endurance in the face of extreme difficulty and formidable resilience of one’s spirt. The respect and overall treatment I received while living in a high achievement nation such as Japan further instilled within me the firm confidence and an abundance of determination which has sustained me throughout this ongoing, barbaric nightmare I’ve been forced to maneuver through in order to be healed. I intend to fully restore my overall health to a well-balanced natural state.
This macabre system in the United States is not the vision that the naturopaths of early America had in mind for future generations. Yet, here we are. This is a system that is highly untenable.
I am reminded of our 16th president, the ‘education President’, James Garfield. I’ve read his inaugural address quite a few times since my university days. On those words alone, if he would have lived to implement his policies, this would be a very different America. I think of the United States Marine Corps general, two time Medal of Honor recipient, Smedley Butler’s War is a Racket. On that piece alone, if his words had been heeded, this would be a very different nation. I think about Henry C. Carey and Friedrich List and the former’s Harmony of Interest. If the policies put forth by those two would have been followed, economically this would have been a nation benefitting the financial needs of the many as opposed to a select few. I think of William Gilpin and his‘Cosmopolitan Railway’. I implore you to research the first governor of the Colorado territory and his 1890 treatise. It was more than just ambitious. It would have created an entirely different world; international trade over land as opposed to sea would have been dominant. Speaking of global change from a past century, I am reminded of Japan once more.
During the 1919 Paris Peace Conference the Japanese delegation, Prince Saionji Kinmochi, Baron Makino Nobuaki, Prince Fumimaro Konoe and Sutemi Chinda put forth the proposal to abolish racial discrimination: 人種的差別撤廃提案 (Jinshutekisabetsu teppai teian). I included the kanji version (with romanji pronunciation) since this is a policy well-worth knowing in its original articulation. Though the proposal’s instigation was meant to benefit Japan and her nationals, had it been implemented in a sincere fashion, through the ‘trickle-down’ effect, it would have changed the entire course of world society and its dynamics.
I think about the consequences… these many roads not taken (or sometimes outright avoided) while our nation is currently involved in a bombing campaign of ancient Persia. The reason as to why has yet to be fully well-defined for most of the general public’s satisfaction. Yes, the ‘pursuit of a nuclear weapon’ accusation has been proffered for well over 20 years. The case for this immediate campaign has yet to meet a well-defined justification for the bombing of a girl’s school (in Minab) as well as other civilian infrastructures. Also, Iran is a civilizational nation. Persia has a history that extends for millennia. The current government of Iran was only established 47 years ago. Decades cannot define thousands of years of a civilization.
Here I deem it necessary to bring up the very real danger of the willful erasure of a nation’s history. It is because of this practice, or just deliberately not including the deeds of any of the aforementioned, that a nation loses its sense of purpose and then direction; opening itself up for ripe exploitation. Remember the opening quote, “Souls come forth on Earth to execute the work of their ancestors.” When one is rendered ignorant of the deeds of those who came before them in society, how are they supposed to improve upon their world? It is always important to learn how a system came into being. A good case in point? Consider the founding of the American Medical Association and in particular two men, George H. Simmons and Morris Fishbein.
The former received a diploma by mail. He joined the American Medical Association (AMA) as a journalist. Also, before that, Mr. Simmons had practiced medicine for years without a viable medical degree. The latter (Fishbein) didn’t complete his medical internship, never practiced medicine and didn’t receive a diploma. In fact, Mr. Fishbein initially wasn’t interested in becoming a practitioner in the medical field. He worked as an extra in an opera company and had considered becoming a full-time circus acrobat. Both of these individuals’ temperaments can be classified as solid service-to-self.
These are the two whose selfish motivations utilized the American Medical Association (AMA) as a source of self-enrichment. Their managing of the AMA had nothing to do with the improvement of the health of their fellow Americans. Instead of the AMA serving the medical industry, the medical industry was made to serve the AMA (enriching both Mr. Simmons and Mr. Fishbein) and not the American citizenry. Ironically, it seems modern day medical care now serves the U.S. health insurance and pharmaceutical industries and not the everyday American. This is an incredibly backward thinking dynamic. Moreover, the advent and rise to power of the AMA coincided with the methodical destruction of the naturopaths and homeopathic practices. Knowing a nation’s history and how certain systems came into being is extremely important if one wishes to remain in control of their destiny.
History doesn’t exists to make people feel either good about themselves or conversely bad. It exists because it happened.
To remove or alter historical events only complicates and opens the door to the possibility of falsification of events in a nation at any point in time. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s valuable, informative work regarding the Soviet Union’s treatment of the previous Tsarist era of his native Russia is a stellar example of this point. The Gulag Archipelago is a must read.
Whether considered good or bad, the truth should always stand. Pursuing the truth and upholding it, no matter where it leads is the action of a mature society and nation who desires to be in control of their own destiny. I am merely addressing the fact that lesser men (those lacking fewer achievements while possessing nowhere near the comparable intellectual acuity) are now in charge of demeaning or sidelining men greater than they will ever be.
Yes, historical American figures have character flaws since they were human beings. But, since when is it apropos to throw the ‘baby out with the bathwater’ as they say? You may not agree with or support everything that has transpired in our collective national past. I most certainly do not. However, I do believe in chronicling history properly and as accurately as possible. That is the only way to improve upon situations and circumstances that have become ineffective or worse, harmful to the greater American citizenry.
You see, intellectual pursuit or curiosity isn’t necessarily bound to blind emotion. No. Authentically innate intellectual pursuit stems from a voracious desire, passion really, to seek and comprehend the truth of an event, a person or the like. Subversion or perversion of such action directly contributes to ill-informed decisions besting well-thought out plans thus resulting in furthering the ultimate unraveling of a nation’s social cohesion. And with this undoing comes a collective lowering of standards of sorts that can, and usually does, migrate to other institutions of a nation. Many examples exist beyond the writing of Solzhenitsyn. I suggest the reader research this area of study. It will prove not only informative but rather disturbing.
Just like the main topic of this post.
A former Emergency Room doctor reduced to the status of a ‘hired gun’ at a random Urgent Care facility in New York State. While there fulfilling his duties to heal the sick, he is heavily ‘leaned on’ by the owner’s son to prioritize producing profit as opposed to spending time to properly diagnose his patients. This scenario solidly classifies as a gross misfortune in life. Lesser men, lesser skilled individuals, when placed in charge of an operation tend to undercut any benefits experienced by the consumer (or patient) by systematically hindering the high level expertise of skilled employees from flourishing. When this business practice is applied to a medical facility… well… a patient’s health is reduced to a mere commodity.
The majority of health ailments cannot be resolved within five minutes or with the now ever present assistance of A.I. on a Tablet. Yet per those who managed this Urgent Care facility in New York, the last place of employment for Dr. M. S., Dr. M. S. was spending too much time with his patients. As for the technological side of the medical ‘business’ well, he was lacking. He was not a computer engineer but a doctor. He did not have to rely on the use of nascent A.I. tech in order to diagnose or perform his duties as a trained, well-experienced physician.
Even though in his 70s, his parents are still very much alive and quite active. This means he had the ‘longevity gene’. Dr. M. S. should have lived at least 10 to 15 more years. However, something curtailed his existence.
Pressure, stress, heavy enforcement of learning the computer related side of the medical field… All ultimately removed a bright light from our society. Here’s a brilliant ER doctor capable of providing rapid, accurate diagnosis in an environment where life and death genuinely hangs in the balance. He was made to suffer through the illogical tech-centric process and cut down on his patients’ time during their visits. As an aside, he didn’t even know how to use Zelle. Yet, here is a man who saved countless lives and eased what ailed myriad patients over the years. Where was the respect? Where was the honor he most certainly earned over his many years of practicing sound, solid medicine? Where is it? We all know this inquiry will go unanswered. And, trust me, there are many more physicians out there in very similar, disrespectful predicaments across the United States.
Now, as I stated at the outset, I did not personally know Dr. M. S. But, I have met many of “him” over my decades-long medical odyssey here in America.
The sudden death of the brilliant Dr. M. S. serves as a classic example of a ‘canary in the coal mine’ event, a proverbial cautionary tale, for not just the medical field here in the United States but for all of us as American citizens; whether we be patient, provider or health insurance executive. It just might be too late to fix what appears to be a medical industry beyond any restorative repair. However, it is never too late to recognize what could have been and to celebrate those individuals who in the face of immense resistance to do otherwise, always strive to uphold the Hippocratic Oath in all its enduring simplicity, quiet civility and boundless elegant respect for human life.
“To those who think that Greece today is of no importance let me say that no greater error could be committed. Today, as of old, Greece is of the utmost importance to every man who is seeking to find himself.
“My experience is not unique. And perhaps I should add that no people in the world are as much in need of what Greece has to offer as the American people. Greece is not merely the antithesis of America, but more, the solution to the ills which plague us.
“Economically it may seem unimportant, but spiritually Greece is still the mother of nations, the fountainhead of wisdom and inspiration.”
-Henry Miller
This July 4th I celebrate another year of living simultaneously as we mark the 250th year of existence as a country. If Americans deem to continue to be counted among the First World nations, we as citizens of the United States of America cannot afford to lose any more genuinely skilled and intelligent physicians such as M. S. Moving forward, they should be treated with respect and allowed to treat their patients to the best of their skilled abilities unhindered by rules founded in rapacious cravings and insatiable desires of attaining endless, insignificant profit. For although the shallow soul will never realize or recognize what the ensouled already know, the human life, the spirit of humanity, holds exponentially more worth than any piece of paper given value solely based upon a peoples’ perception.
Perceived value is finite. A soul’s worth is timeless, eternal. One is born with potential and promise while the other has been rendered into a corruptive corrosive, extinguishing force of all that is vibrant.
Now, for all those who are currently practicing medicine and have not lived up to that famous Hellenic Oath from antiquity…these next words are meant as purely heartfelt advice as opposed to any randomly veiled threat. If you sincerely value human life over empty rewards of finite material assets and promises of hollow greatness among the uncouth and unskilled, it’s time for you to engage in some deep introspection. Strive to ascertain if you are practicing in a field where you belong. Are your motives mired in strictly service-to-self thus being a hinderance to others or are you providing, to the best of your ability, a service-to-others, to your fellow human beings. The choice is quite simplistic: Service-to-self or service-to-others.
Keep in mind, other than your voice, every human being is born with certain God-given rights. There may just be such a thing as karma. There may even be such a thing as spiritual justice. So, in your field of practice, the harm you cause directly due to myriad, selfish reasons may not warrant the same karmic consequences as harm done unintentionally. However, whatever the catalyst, the consequences you reap can end in extinguishing a life. Keep that in the forefront of your mind from this day forward. Choose wisely for there are forces greater than the material plane of existence at work, always. Murder, even indirectly, is an eternal spiritual crime.
As for the United States of America? The first step to best commemorate a quarter of a millennia of existence is to remember and recognize all those roads not traveled that most likely would have resulted in a better standard of living for the majority of American citizens as opposed to a small, select few.
We owe those who came before us that gesture: Remembrance with Respect. This could have been a brilliant light to other nations, a modern day Ptolemy’s ‘Alexandria’ beckoning others toward a living example of civilizing intelligence. Instead, somewhere along the way, an odious hijacking of a dream occurred. Far too many people came before this generation who attempted a course correct. Regrettably, their goals were cut short of realization. Their names have been sidelined into oblivion.
As stated before, I never personally met Dr. M. S. But then again, there’s a metaphor there that warrants repeating. He was practicing in a field where he belonged. Practitioners such as he are fast becoming a rare breed and it is we, the surviving Americans, who suffer the dire consequences: their absence, their untimely, and unfortunate removal from our midst.
Now, we are well aware that no one country is perfect. There is good and bad represented in all cultures and societies (some more than others). As stated before, it is always important to learn how a system came into being.
The previous century’s sidelining and belittlement of the homeopathic practitioners and their trade harkened a very dark turn regarding our nation’s overall health. One which we are still striving to recover to this day. This is yet one more American tragedy. Our country is no longer a place providing the freedom to doctors such as M. S. to practice an honorable approach to medicine. And, patients are left to suffer in more ways than one.
Doctors such as he are not the only ones left with little to no opportunity. The number of Americans leaving the United States permanently has quietly increased. Recently, I read a YouTube comment that describes this topic perfectly: “People don’t move to belong, they move because they feel they don’t belong anymore to the place they leave. They change pain for hope.” -pipipac, April 2026.
“…Changing pain for hope.” The increase in Americans relocating abroad has significantly risen over the years. And, even though I’ve lived in France as a student then Japan as an adult, I did return home to the U.S. on both occasions. However, my situation back then wasn’t born out of necessity but out of intellectual and cultural curiosity. I had the opportunity to study French and Japanese well in advance before ever visiting, much less live, in either nations. I studied their history and cultures as much as I could from California.
My number one advice to the emigrating Americans: cultural shock is real. It tends to occur just around the two year mark in your new country of residence. But, it is important to ask yourself, “Do the positives outweigh the negatives?” As stated before, there is good and bad in all nations. The ideal situation is to realize where the positives outweigh the negatives for your life circumstance (and those around you). Your presence in your new country should be seen as a contribution. This is the question I’m wrestling with right now here in Southern Nevada.
In the midst of explaining my current, ongoing healthcare nightmare, I’m seriously considering a permanent move abroad. I’m at the point in my life where I cannot afford to suffer another major healthcare battle just to maintain good health. There are those who say one should fix their own country before emigrating to another. This rings true in most situations. However, when it comes to the constant adversarial nature while engaging with a healthcare system (leading to outright inadequate or no medical care), one cannot fix something if they are permanently disabled or even dead. It is my intention to avoid all of the most likely future horror which will be meted out to me by the U.S. healthcare industry: an abundant absence of dignity, being subjected to demeaning treatment all the while forced into myriad lessons of cruelty performed by unskilled or just plain mendacious medical staff.
There exist two ‘battle born’ states, Nevada’s one. It seems fitting being born on July 4th, I am facing my biggest battle against ignorance, incompetence and the most ignoble treatment experienced in my entire life in a state founded in battle. What sustains my ‘independent’ sanity, besides a hopeful faith that I am here for a reason? Reaching deep and going into a state of Nintai: “Continuing forward without giving up. Holding steadfast endurance in the face of difficulty. Maintaining total resilience of the spirit.” I learned from the best how to battle relentless b.s. A solid game plan can overcome an attack mired in injustice. My personal private library is quite substantial. At present it totals just over 1,500 volumes, mostly nonfiction with an abundance of historical works. I read once that, “Books are weapons in the world of ideas”. This approach should ultimately guarantee my overcoming the U.S. healthcare industry and medical system’s abysmal and appalling treatment of my being.
If I do indeed survive my current medical predicament, I will most likely have to leave just to maintain my restored good health. I must first earn enough to save since wherever I land, that is to be my permanent home.
Yet, I digress…
I love the United States, warts and all. I’ve shared a birthday cake every year of my existence with the USA. When I say I love it, I mean I especially love what it could have been… And perchance what it still could be. It is heartbreaking to see it in its present condition. In the lead up to July 2026, there are a lot of Americans who came before us and who have been sidelined. We should celebrate our writers and artists who still inspire many the world over: Edgar Allan Poe, Herman Melville, James Baldwin, Emily Dickinson, Henry David Thoreau, Thomas Cole...
There are so many more who were not artists but have been forgotten: Henry C. Carey's The Unity of Law and his ‘American System’, Friedrich List, Senator Cassius Clay of Kentucky, Harriet Jacobs, our ‘Education President’ James Garfield, William Gilpin and his ‘Cosmopolitan Railway’, Paschal Beverly Randolph, Elizabeth Cady Stanton… these are just a few.
And yet, this ill-governance and casual forgetting of many past greatness appears to be a worldwide issue when one honestly takes stock of the species-wide human condition.
To achieve a bona fide global world peace (and prosperity for the majority) all that is necessary is to look back in time to an era when our ancestors achieved what we can only currently dream of today. At present we are unfortunately, as Mr. Trevor Grassi so eloquently stated in Spring 2025: “[…] living in the tail-end remnants of a dark age upon a global scale. We haven’t seen true civilization. If we want to see a real world peace, a true global civilization… or understand what a real civilization looks like, we have to look very deep into the past and we have to resurrect that. We can bring it all back. There’s a science of the stars. There’s a science of the soul. There’s a science of physical healing and medical technology and all those things […] We can create a new golden age. I believe it is inevitable. This is about who we are as a species.” I am reminded of the lyrics, “There is no political solution to a troubled evolution…” from the music group The Police. Remember as well the quote at the beginning: “Souls come forth on Earth to execute the work of their ancestors.”
We as a nation, must do better. We can begin by remembering all those who strove to truly make this country the best it could be. Never forget them. And, never forget those who took us down the road to ruin. From remembering the latter, we can either correct or at least not repeat their unnecessary mistakes. A nation who remembers her past, secures an opportunity to collectively learn from her mistakes. Those who properly learn from their past erroneous actions gain the advantage for creating a better society for the overall collective. To start, I suggest the United States should seriously consider returning to as close to a representative republic as realistically possible. The United States was never founded as a democracy; and with good reason. The Founding Fathers didn’t want a democracy knowing it’s one of the fastest roads to tyranny. Something to consider.
“Democracy is 51% of the people taking away the rights of the other 49%.”
-Thomas Jefferson
Returning to the main topic of this missive, the current U.S. health insurance industry requires a proper restorative synchronization with the medical field it purportedly serves. This action should lead to appropriate access to decent medical care for all citizens. As stated before, Emerson’s, “The first wealth is health” wasn’t entirely correct. What’s true is more in line with the thinking of engineer and physicist Robert C. Beck, ‘health is a natural state, not a commodity’. The Japanese and many other nations know this. It’s that simple. Access to proper medical care should never be a convenient wedge issue of two political parties. It is not a political issue that can remain unaddressed. It is a human one. Our collective societal efforts should honor our ancestors while securing a stable future for those generations to come. We must learn to harmonize the aforementioned discordant, collective “stress Hum” into a plurality of focused, peaceful productivity.
In conclusion, the United States of America must not continue down this precarious and ill-considered road of ubiquitous corporatization of all government and public institutions. To do so will continue the slow yet systematic death and destruction of our citizens harboring innately brilliant minds. It is they who will prove instrumental in setting the future foundation leading to the creation of a better society for the majority of American citizenry. Without them, we collectively perish as a serious, viable nation.
After 250 years, we as Americans owe it to all the past good efforts that some of our ancestors tried to manifest for our future benefit. Even though their dreams of building a better America were not fully realized, both their names and selfless deeds should never be forgotten. It is time to collectively mature and learn to respect one another. Not like. Not love. For you can respect something that you don’t like. But never can you like something you do not respect.
To all the physicians akin to Dr. M. S., please know that you are respected by those who it matters to most. You will never be forgotten and will always be held within our hearts in the highest of honor. Your elegant intelligence and dedicated commitment to excel at curing what ails your fellow human beings represents the United States of America at its best; not only for us as Americans but the world at large. This especially applies to Dr. C. W. (my current hand specialist) and Y. L., my occupational therapist. Your encouraging words, respectful treatment, human decency and kindness go a long way to easing my constant pain.
And finally, to Dr. M. S., even though we never had the pleasure of meeting, both me and America will never forget you, the pain you eased for so many and the lives you saved. Although departed, your work and life continues to inspire us to do better and contribute to society in a meaningful manner. Individuals such as yourself are the best of the United States of America. Godspeed.
“There is not a truth existing which I fear… or would wish unknown to the whole world.”
-Thomas Jefferson
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