September’s Thoughts

My Passion, Explained

When I wrote my message for the September issue, it was, unfortunately, for the October theme. I find myself having to write this message with only a very short notice. Today has been a very good day for me because my four-year-old granddaughter is visiting from San Diego. My daughter brought her here so that I would receive a double pleasure when I arrived home. I do not have to explain to the other grandparents of our Society how wonderful it is to have a four-year-old granddaughter take command of your house and tell you how to do everything. Wondering what subject to discuss, I asked my daughter for advice on this message. She said, “…write about your passion.”

The fact is, I have been writing about it this entire year; and I’ve have been arguing about it at the TMA and the Texas Legislature for years. My passion is to be a voice of reason for the poor, underinsured and disenfranchised people of Texas. At this point in time, it is not politically feasible to discuss the needy. Our city, county, state, nation—and economy—are facing very tough financial situations. Unfortunately, the rhetoric in the media is dominated by the attitude of survival of the fittest. There are code words that are used to hide the true meaning of the I, My, Me Syndrome which has been broadcast, and still is prominent, in the news these past several months.

Financial statistics have demonstrated a continually widening gap between the haves and the have-nots. A small percentage of the population makes the largest percentage of the money in the United States. The Golden Rule is: “The ones who have the gold, make the rules.” We have witnessed this attitude as a take care of myself; and if the other person cannot survive, then they don't deserve to exist impression. Having been observed in many areas of our lives, I think it was first demonstrated in Texas when the two richest school districts in the state sued the state’s education funding system. Since then, the Robin Hood approach to funding schools is no longer available—further widening the education gap between the upper middle-class schools and the poorer school districts. The state has not found a reasonable substitute for funding education. Recently, I heard advertisements by institutions in San Antonio requesting that citizens donate school supplies in order to help the schools and teachers furnish students with basic classroom needs. It seems that the bright children, who happen to come from poor families, do not have much of a chance to advance and use their brains to better our society.

I have a theory that within every race, there are beautiful people. My estimate is that 10 percent of the population is beautiful, regardless of whatever part of the world you come from. Unfortunately, 10 percent of the population is not beautiful. Using the bell curve, the remaining 80 percent of our population will be considered the status quo.

I think the same statistics apply to our intellect. God created our intellect using His formula. It is my opinion that 10 percent of all children are very bright, no matter which neighborhood they live in. Likewise, 10 percent of children are not very bright, and family income doesn’t come into play when determining the intellectual levels.

This brings us back to my original thought process: Who's going to take care of the poor, disenfranchised and underinsured people of San Antonio? And for that matter, who’s going to take care of our state? I do not believe the process will correct itself unless safety nets are allowed or are in place. I believe the safety nets will have to come from churches, synagogues, mosques, and other institutions of that nature, and complemented by philanthropists.

Sincerely,

Jesse Moss Jr., MD