Dr. Charles Krauthammer on the public’s health vs. individual privacy

the need to protect the public’s health and the rights of the individual may not always coincide.These arguments could apply to situations other than Ebola infection. They include other infectious diseases as well as tobacco use, alcohol and drug use and abuse, motor vehicle safety, mental health , vaccine avoidance, gun ownership, and sexually transmitted diseases.

This post was updated August 2, 2021

To call the late Dr. Charles Krauthammer an opinion writer is a vast understatement. a Pulitzer Prize winner, he wrote a popular column for the Washington Post . He died from intestinal cancer in 2018.

With wit and wisdom he addressed a wide variety of headlining topics, as well as those more mundane, including politics, economics,education, relationships and  lifestyle. His previous background as a practicing psychiatrist qualified him to comment on medical issues with insight and experience.

Ebola (and COVID-19) vs. civil liberties

In this 2014 article about the Ebola virus epidemic and civil liberties,  he addressed the conflict created by the introduction of the Ebola virus into the United States. He argues that the need to protect the public’s health  and the rights of the individual may not always coincide.

These arguments could apply to situations other than Ebola infection. They include other infectious diseases as well as tobacco use, alcohol and drug use and abuse, motor vehicle safety, mental health, vaccine avoidance, gun ownership, and sexually transmitted diseases.

Things that matter : three decades of passions, pastimes, and politics

As a physician, I find it fascinating and amazing that Dr. Krauthammer completed medical school and residency after and despite sustaining a spinal cord injury which caused quadriplegia (paralysis from the neck down, preventing use of his arms and legs).

He discusses this, and pays tribute to a medical school professor who helped make it possible in his book

Things That Matter by Charles Krauthammer

a both a memoir and a collection of his essays. His success causes one to question how exactly should we define “disability”?

You will find  Dr. Krauthammer on The Washington Post . You may not always agree with him, but I think you will appreciate his creative use of words to express his well thought opinions.

 

Dr. Charles Krauthammer on circus elephants, eating meat, and moral choices

 

 

exploring the HEART of public health

Dr. Aletha

Tuesday Travels- Chicago Illinois

Chicago, now the third largest United States city, was once destroyed by a fire of uncertain origin. It hosts an annual St. Patrick’s Day parade and offers tourists multiple attractions and experiences.

The Chicago river is dyed green .
The river was painted green on St. Patrick’s Day
photo by Ryan Oglesby, my son

Chicago, 3rd largest city in the United States

Chicago, now the third largest United States city, was once destroyed by a fire of uncertain origin. It hosts an annual St. Patrick’s Day parade and offers tourists multiple attractions and experiences.

Who was St. Patrick?

Saint Patrick was not born in Ireland, but in Scotland to Roman parents. Taken as a slave to Ireland, he lived there, escaped, and later returned as a missionary, taking the Christian Gospel to Ireland.

downtown Chicago with Lake Michigan in the foreground
the Chicago city skyline across Lake Michigan
JOHN G. SHEDD AQUARIUM in Chicago Illinois
JOHN G. SHEDD AQUARIUM
overlooking Millennium Park, Chicago, Illinois
overlooking Millennium Park, Chicago, Illinois
Chicago skyline from Lake Michigan with Navy Pier in foreground
city skyline and Navy Pier from a boat on Lake Michigan

exploring the HEART of health and travel

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