the glory and the horror

So I’m not exactly trying to pick a fight, but the more and more I think about US history, the more I am convinced that the war for American independence was not justifiable, scripturally. In terms of what little I know of just war theology, it just doesn’t seem to fly. In terms of the standard “no taxation without representation”-type stuff, well, that sure doesn’t seem like a reason for open rebellion against the standing authorities. I mean, how many of us would start an open violent rebellion if they started to tax us without representation? How many of us would go to foreign countries where the government impinges on a lot more freedoms to foment such rebellion?

Anyone have any thoughts?

I forgot to mention my birthday last weekend (the 17th). Kathleen and Alice F. put on a little party for myself and Joel, at my apartment complex. A cookout, with good meat, chips, drinks, and the rest of it. Including a toss in the pool, too. Except that she waited until fairly late in the evening, after the sun goes down, so that the water is particularly frigid. She’s going to get it on August.

Kathleen had a great idea tonight over dinner. We would both do an away rotation 4th year at the Mayo Clinic, and she’d do pediatric infectious diseases, or something along those lines, and I’d go to write a paper comparing philosophies of medical education between a large, state school attached to the busiest public hospital in the nation, and that of a small, private school where medical students are trained in a facility that provides care for the elite of the world, such as former President Ronald Reagan and King Hussein of Jordan. The idea is still quite rough, but the more I think about it, the more possibilities it has. Some questions could include:

How does the institutions differ in focus? How are they similar?
How do those differences influence their philosophy of medical education, if at all? How do the students perceive these differences?
Is there a difference when you’re being trained by the state, presumably to practice in that state agin, compared to being trained in a private institution, presumably not just for the state of Minnesota? What are they being trained for? For the sake of medicine, in and of itself?
Both institutions are famous in other countries, but for remarkably different reasons – one is well-known for its high-profile patients, while the other is well-known because of the amount of care provided for anyone and everyone who comes.

All of those questions have profound implications, I think, especially when it comes to their medical education and the subjects and topics that are emphasized, at the expense of others. There are also underlying themes and biases that undergird the choices that someone has made in deciding what’s more important to focus on and what’s less important. How does that impact the students’ experience and perception of the practice of medicine? How does that help and how does it hinder? Does it even help (or hinder)?