When I describe my interest in medicine/public health, I make a point to emphasize how this goes beyond my scientific curiosity and into my passion for people, particularly marginalized communities. Intersectionalities such as the crib to prison pipeline/ books v. bars have been supported with substantial evidence.

 The Economist SArticle. Very Interesting. My fascination with Globalization is crazy!!!

Globalisation and health care

Operating profit

Aug 14th 2008 | NEW YORK
From The Economist print edition

YP4 Fellows,

I am absolutely elated to be a part of such an active and intelligent group of young people. I enjoyed talking with a lot of you at the Summit, both getting your ideas and, admittedly, proselytizing on my own.

Right now, however, I write to you all about an issue that can no longer be ignored, an issue that infringes upon the basic human rights of every American regardless of race, age, gender, etc.

We've all heard the right-wing canards about health care reform. Any deviation from the current private insurance system is immediately derided as "socialism," or "a massive increase in government spending,"or perhaps even "destined to become a huge bureaucratic nightmare." Of course, I've never heard it explained how our privatized health insurance system is not expensive or overly bureaucratic, but never mind that. I want to talk about our "big three" Democratic presidential contenders, and how none of them has really had the guts to go all the way on health care reform.

As a young woman living with chronic illness, I face challenges every day: fatigue, pain - and serious time constraints. (Must fit in that yoga class, and meditation, work, and a trip to the health food store, read the latest book on my condition, a little activism, and, oh yea, something fun maybe?)

But an even bigger challenge is ever-present: Speaking up about my health. As a good Southern girl, I was raised to be polite and not rock the boat. As an adult, that translated (until recently) into a timidity toward frank discussion of illness - especially my own.

That silence keeps millions of people from getting the care and support they need every day. Our health care system is broken, and while we may feel powerless to change it, we're not - but as a first step, we have to speak up about our needs and the injustices we experience.