R: Walter Reed, Military Medicine, a New Commission

[Bjorn, Pret]

-----Original Message-----
From: trauma-list-bounces at trauma.org
[mailto:trauma-list-bounces at trauma.org] On Behalf Of kmattox at aol.com
Sent: Monday, March 05, 2007 9:10 AM
To: Trauma & Critical Care mailing list
Subject: Re: R: Walter Reed, Military Medicine, a New Commission

...

I would agree it would be good not to have a war, not to have car
wrecks, not to have drugs and not to have family social violence.   It
would be good for people to NOT smoke and to Not drink booze, but we as
clinicians care for the medical needs of a society.   

So very many special interest groups try to support their interest de
jour.  We are in the midst of the greatest wounding frenzy of the past
50 yeasr with head injury , amputations and devastating injury.   We
must NO t abandon our patients and their needs at any level,  including
the wounded soldier who goes back home to heartland America.  

K
...


How easy it seems to pick and choose among causes to champion; but let's
not pretend that the trauma care provider's only obligation is to the
victims of injuries already suffered.  

The "medical needs of our society," in this context more than any,
require that clinicians take action when the lay public is seduced into
senseless and unending slaughter, and then methodically inured its
consequences.

The 21st-Century's Broad Street Pump is in the Middle East -- designed,
constructed, and financed by American foreign policy -- and it's high
time an ostensibly free civilization exercised its obligation to tear
the handle off, or live proud of our pestilence.

Pret