Thursday, August 26, 2010

Rectification of Names

Most people I know consider Confucius a smart dude.  Confucius taught that if we want to have any hope of repairing what's wrong in the world, we should start with the “rectification of the names.”

This means calling things as they truly are.

Having the wrong name for things can lead people to behave in ways they did not originally intend. 

Many people today behave as though their premiums for health insurance somehow help them obtain a state of wellbeing.  This causes them to disconnect their personal choices from their level of wellness.  I say this is a great tragedy and is responsible for much of the all-too-prevalent sickness and disease we see daily in America.

We recently overhauled our Health Care system but left the wrong name on it.  I propose we begin a "rectification of names" starting with Health Care. Let's call it what it is - "Crisis Care," or "Sickness Care" or "Disease Management."  This will tell people what their dollars are actually spent on.

Today's Sickness Care has nothing to do with health.  A bold statement, I know.  This Sick Care System is primarily concerned with death, dying and disease.  And that's OK because it does save people from dying when they're on the brink and it is with humble gratitude that I say, "Thank Goodness for these loving professionals!!!"  They are good at their job!  And if I am ever in an accident I want the best Crisis Care Professionals taking care of me!

Doing as Confucius suggested will reconnect people with an understanding of the effects of their choices and that health is what happens when you supply the intelligence of the body with what is required (sufficiency) and keep it free from things that harm it (purity).

Current "Health Care" professionals simply don't have the time to study and educate people on health when they are fixated on the pandemics of early death and disease.

We need a health care system that promotes true health and personal responsibility rather than dependence on technology to undo the effects of our choices.  This can be done by a health care system that educates about the simple idea of purity and sufficiency. Our current system is aimed in the wrong direction. We must find prevention professionals who are outside of the crisis care system, but above all, we must apply Confucius' principle of the Rectification of Names.


Reconnecting you to "Health is Normal."


Resources:
UC Berkeley Article
NY Times article
Private contribution :


“If language is not correct, then what is said is not what is meant; if what is said is not what is meant, then what must be done remains undone; if this remains undone, morals and art will deteriorate; if justice goes astray, the people will stand about in helpless confusion. Hence there must be no arbitrariness in what is said. This matters above everything.”


Picture from:
The Quote Blog

No comments:

Post a Comment