I totally agree, Gail. I have several progressive American friends and am
somewhat buoyed by the recent surge in Obama's popularity.
But, by and large, US social policy is not something we in Canada should seek to
emulate - at least if we want to maximize population health, minimize health
disparities, and achieve social justice generally.
Jeff
--
Jeff Denis
PhD Candidate, Department of Sociology
Doctoral Fellow, Multidisciplinary Program in Inequality and Social Policy
John F. Kennedy School of Government
Harvard University
"The principle of organizing our society for the benefit of all the people and
not for a privileged few - that is still here and that is a principle to which
we adhere." - Tommy C. Douglas
Quoting W Gail Richardson <[log in to unmask]>:
> This is a fascinating topic. I think the real point is when you are looking
> for best practices on a sustainable society it is not the US we should be
> emulating. This is not a statement on individual americans, but a reality
> check on who we as Canadians model on a societal scale.
>
> Unless of course, you want to model the best practices to make the rich
> richer as a guiding principle. which translates to not considering the whole
> or collective good of the whole country.
> nor believing that the measure of society is how well you treat the weak and
> the vulnerable.
>
> These appear to be governance issues where the values of the politicians lead
> to societal gain or individual gain due to the implemented policies.
>
> any other have thoughts on this? I would love to hear them...
>
> Gail
> >
> > From: marlene rivier <[log in to unmask]>
> > Date: 2008/01/07 Mon PM 07:26:03 EST
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: Re: [SDOH] Taller Europeans have a message for small-minded North
> Americans
> >
> > Dear Michael,
> > Thanks, I needed that! We all do from time to time. We Canadians can get
> a little smug and revel in a sense of superiority over our American
> neighbours. Like other stereotypes they sort of insidiously creep in and it
> doesn't hurt to get a little jolt to shake us out of our self-satisfaction.
> >
> > Those of us who consider ourselves political progressives also need to be
> reminded from time to time that political conservatives probably love their
> kids too! I have a friend who is a "Republican" and I am really glad I got
> to know him before I found out! ;-)
> > Marlene Rivier, Ottawa
> >
> > David Young <[log in to unmask]> wrote: Michael, and Others,
> >
> > As an Australian working in cancer research I share your concerns and would
> like to support them. It does take real courage to step up as a social
> activist in the US, and like you, I know many talented US citizens who have
> stepped up, foregone the rewards that come with toeing the party line, and
> fought for justice in the Public Health Arena. They have my admiration.
> >
> > Dave
> > Dr. David Young
> > Senior Social Scientist and Sally Birch Fellow in Cancer Control
> > Cancer Council Victoria
> > 100 Drummond St
> > Carlton Vic 3053
> > Phone: +61 3 9635 5123
> > Mobile: +61 4 1933 5308
> > Fax: +61 3 9635 5440
> > email: [log in to unmask]
> > Honorary Research Fellow, Monash University
> >
> > "Relativity is not the relativity of truth, but the truth of relation";
> Gille Deleuze, "The Fold: Leibnitz and the Baroque"
> >
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Social Determinants of Health [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of
> > Michael Goodstadt
> > Sent: Tuesday, 8 January 2008 9:35 AM
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: Re: [SDOH] Taller Europeans have a message for small-minded
> > North Americans
> >
> >
> > Every year or so, I am driven to respond to SDOH correspondence that, in my
> > opinion, focuses on stereotyping the United States and its citizens as
> being
> > uniformly reactionary, ignorant, and even evil. This serves no purpose,
> > except perhaps to allow us, in Canada, to feel different/superior. My own
> > experience with studying, living and working in the United States is that
> > there are millions of good and unselfish Americans who, in walking the
> > social justice path, are required to demonstrate a great deal more courage
> > than we do in our blessed country of Canada. It is good, even necessary, to
> > have a critical debate about the pros and cons of our respective society's;
> > however, in my mind, it is counter-productive, and even unjust, to basis
> our
> > discussion on prejudiced characterizations of our American neighbours.
> >
> > I would be interested in hearing what other subscribers think/feel.
> >
> > Michael Goodstadt
> >
> > ************************************************
> > Michael S. Goodstadt Ph.D., C.Psych.
> > Professor
> > Director, MHSc Program in Health Promotion
> > Department of Public Health Sciences
> > Health Sciences Building, University of Toronto
> > 155 College Street, Room 509
> > TORONTO, Ontario, Canada M5T 3M7
> >
> > Phone: 416-978-1785 (Office); 416-691-7860 (home)
> > Fax: 416-971-1365
> > e-mail: [log in to unmask]
> >
> > ***************************************************************
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Social Determinants of Health [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
> > Yvonne Warford
> > Sent: January 4, 2008 4:38 PM
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: Re: Taller Europeans have a message for small-minded North
> > Americans
> >
> > Hello. I am out of the health centre and will return on January 8th. I
> > look forward to responding to your email at that time.
> >
> > Thank you,
> > Yvonne Warford
> >
> >
> > Notice: This email contains confidential or proprietary information
> > which may be legally privileged. It is intended only for the named
> > recipient(s). If an addressing or transmission error has misdirected
> > the email, please notify the author by replying to this message. If you
> > are not the named recipient, you are not authorized to use, disclose,
> > distribute, copy, print or rely on this email, and should immediately
> > delete it from your computer system. Opinions, conclusions or
> > other information contained in this email may not be that of the
> > organization.
> >
> > -------------------
> > Problems/Questions? Send it to Listserv owner: [log in to unmask]
> >
> >
> > To unsubscribe, send the following message in the text section -- NOT the
> > subject header -- to [log in to unmask]
> >
> > SIGNOFF SDOH
> >
> > DO NOT SEND IT BY HITTING THE REPLY BUTTON. THIS SENDS THE MESSAGE TO THE
> > ENTIRE LISTSERV AND STILL DOES NOT REMOVE YOU.
> >
> > To subscribe to the SDOH list, send the following message to
> > [log in to unmask] in the text section, NOT in the subject header.
> >
> > SUBSCRIBE SDOH yourfirstname yourlastname
> >
> > To post a message to all 1200+ subscribers, send it to [log in to unmask]
> > Include in the Subject, its content, and location and date, if relevant.
> >
> > For a list of SDOH members, send a request to [log in to unmask]
> >
> > To receive messages only once a day, send the following message to
> > [log in to unmask]
> > SET SDOH DIGEST
> >
> > To view the SDOH archives, go to:
> > https://listserv.yorku.ca/archives/sdoh.html
> >
> > -------------------
> > Problems/Questions? Send it to Listserv owner: [log in to unmask]
> >
> >
> > To unsubscribe, send the following message in the text section -- NOT the
> subject header -- to [log in to unmask]
> >
> > SIGNOFF SDOH
> >
> > DO NOT SEND IT BY HITTING THE REPLY BUTTON. THIS SENDS THE MESSAGE TO THE
> ENTIRE LISTSERV AND STILL DOES NOT REMOVE YOU.
> >
> > To subscribe to the SDOH list, send the following message to
> [log in to unmask] in the text section, NOT in the subject header.
> >
> > SUBSCRIBE SDOH yourfirstname yourlastname
> >
> > To post a message to all 1200+ subscribers, send it to [log in to unmask]
> > Include in the Subject, its content, and location and date, if relevant.
> >
> > For a list of SDOH members, send a request to [log in to unmask]
> >
> > To receive messages only once a day, send the following message to
> [log in to unmask]
> > SET SDOH DIGEST
> >
> > To view the SDOH archives, go to:
> https://listserv.yorku.ca/archives/sdoh.html
> >
> > -------------------
> > Problems/Questions? Send it to Listserv owner: [log in to unmask]
> >
> >
> > To unsubscribe, send the following message in the text section -- NOT the
> subject header -- to [log in to unmask]
> >
> > SIGNOFF SDOH
> >
> > DO NOT SEND IT BY HITTING THE REPLY BUTTON. THIS SENDS THE MESSAGE TO THE
> ENTIRE LISTSERV AND STILL DOES NOT REMOVE YOU.
> >
> > To subscribe to the SDOH list, send the following message to
> [log in to unmask] in the text section, NOT in the subject header.
> >
> > SUBSCRIBE SDOH yourfirstname yourlastname
> >
> > To post a message to all 1200+ subscribers, send it to [log in to unmask]
> > Include in the Subject, its content, and location and date, if relevant.
> >
> > For a list of SDOH members, send a request to [log in to unmask]
> >
> > To receive messages only once a day, send the following message to
> [log in to unmask]
> > SET SDOH DIGEST
> >
> > To view the SDOH archives, go to:
> https://listserv.yorku.ca/archives/sdoh.html
> >
> >
> > -------------------
> > Problems/Questions? Send it to Listserv owner: [log in to unmask]
> >
> >
> > To unsubscribe, send the following message in the text section -- NOT the
> subject header -- to [log in to unmask]
> >
> > SIGNOFF SDOH
> >
> > DO NOT SEND IT BY HITTING THE REPLY BUTTON. THIS SENDS THE MESSAGE TO THE
> ENTIRE LISTSERV AND STILL DOES NOT REMOVE YOU.
> >
> > To subscribe to the SDOH list, send the following message to
> [log in to unmask] in the text section, NOT in the subject header.
> >
> > SUBSCRIBE SDOH yourfirstname yourlastname
> >
> > To post a message to all 1200+ subscribers, send it to [log in to unmask]
> > Include in the Subject, its content, and location and date, if relevant.
> >
> > For a list of SDOH members, send a request to [log in to unmask]
> >
> > To receive messages only once a day, send the following message to
> [log in to unmask]
> > SET SDOH DIGEST
> >
> > To view the SDOH archives, go to:
> https://listserv.yorku.ca/archives/sdoh.html
> >
> >
> >
>
> -------------------
> Problems/Questions? Send it to Listserv owner: [log in to unmask]
>
>
> To unsubscribe, send the following message in the text section -- NOT the
> subject header -- to [log in to unmask]
>
> SIGNOFF SDOH
>
> DO NOT SEND IT BY HITTING THE REPLY BUTTON. THIS SENDS THE MESSAGE TO THE
> ENTIRE LISTSERV AND STILL DOES NOT REMOVE YOU.
>
> To subscribe to the SDOH list, send the following message to
> [log in to unmask] in the text section, NOT in the subject header.
>
> SUBSCRIBE SDOH yourfirstname yourlastname
>
> To post a message to all 1200+ subscribers, send it to [log in to unmask]
> Include in the Subject, its content, and location and date, if relevant.
>
> For a list of SDOH members, send a request to [log in to unmask]
>
> To receive messages only once a day, send the following message to
> [log in to unmask]
> SET SDOH DIGEST
>
> To view the SDOH archives, go to:
> https://listserv.yorku.ca/archives/sdoh.html
>
-------------------
Problems/Questions? Send it to Listserv owner: [log in to unmask]
To unsubscribe, send the following message in the text section -- NOT the subject header -- to [log in to unmask]
SIGNOFF SDOH
DO NOT SEND IT BY HITTING THE REPLY BUTTON. THIS SENDS THE MESSAGE TO THE ENTIRE LISTSERV AND STILL DOES NOT REMOVE YOU.
To subscribe to the SDOH list, send the following message to [log in to unmask] in the text section, NOT in the subject header.
SUBSCRIBE SDOH yourfirstname yourlastname
To post a message to all 1200+ subscribers, send it to [log in to unmask]
Include in the Subject, its content, and location and date, if relevant.
For a list of SDOH members, send a request to [log in to unmask]
To receive messages only once a day, send the following message to [log in to unmask]
SET SDOH DIGEST
To view the SDOH archives, go to: https://listserv.yorku.ca/archives/sdoh.html
|
