Universal Dental Care In The Province Of Ontario
How do we separate dental health from general health? How can we conceptually deny the intimate connection between a healthy mouth and a healthy body, mind and spirit? Dental problems are painful, embarrassing, distracting and debilitating.
Much productivity is lost in our society due to dental problems. And dental problems are clearly associated with a wide variety of other health concerns from stomach cancer to kidney and bladder disorders to prostate gland inflammation, all of which place further pressure on our medical delivery systems.
Few common human experiences are more painful and distressing than a toothache. It’s the kind of pain that steals sleep and peace and concentration. The infection in an abscessed tooth flows freely through the entire bloodstream and cannot be dissociated from the body at a practical level. Even existing definitions of insurable medical conditions have not managed to remove everyone’s heads.
The Canadian Dental Association (dentists) are all in agreement that that early and persistent care according to agreed upon maintenance practices are the best policy in caring for people’s teeth (and therefore people). Their ads on television and all of their individual and collective communications with the Canadian Public say the same thing with perfect consistency.
Yet they seem largely agreed that this policy should not be public policy. And so much more could be done for the dental health and overall well-being of people with so much less if this were public policy, rather than a humiliating message to all who lack complete access to proper care as prescribed by dentists in general.
And dentists should take note that other forms of health care delivery have prospered their colleagues in the medical professions. The merely financial benefits for practitioners from these integrated systems have reached far beyond anything imagined at the moment of conception, or even at its birth. And it has helped all Canadians as well.
Let me clarify that I am not merely suggesting universal dental treatment. I mean dental care. By providing dental care and preventative treatment through government based programs we could reap great benefits as a Province [Ontario], as a Nation [Canada], as a People [Canadians].
For instance, a report issued this week about Emergency room traffic in Ontario hospitals revealed that over fifty percent of ER visits were not emergencies and a large proportion of these visits were related to dental problems. Helping people care for their teeth would also relieve some of the undue pressures placed on hospital staff by sheer volume of clients at Emergency Rooms and other facilities. And it would relieve pressure on the public medical care delivery system, on the Province, and the on Federal Budget.
Healthier people are simply happier, more co-operative, and more productive members of society. Many of our citizens (often the poor or very poor) do not know how to care for their mouths and teeth. Consequently they’re embarrassed both by the appearance of their teeth and by the suffering that accompanies dental infections and other oral problems.
These people cannot afford to pay someone to help them care for their teeth. But we have the technologies, the administrative methods, the technologists, the dentists: the system components with which we could eliminate this sad pressure on people and on society. We even have the funding. All we lack is the Will and a Vision of a Nation where people’s heads are attached to their bodies in the world of political and bureaucratic decision-making.
We need Universal Dental Care in The Province of Ontario. This would help the poor, the artists, our institutions, our finances, our work force, everyone! And dental practitioners could see a more even and widespread benefit to their society. They would also find even more reason for pride in their individual and collective work. Life is a team sport and the collective skill, intelligence and creativity of our dentists could help transform Canada into that place about which we Dream.
Tommy Douglas was recently voted Canada’s “Greatest” citizen by an enthusiastic Public using media technology [TV + Internet + telephones + computers]. This former Premier of Saskatchewan won the hearts and devotion and gratitude of all Canadians through the introduction of “medicare”; government sponsored and supervised medical treatment for all citizens with no user fee.
Apparently the concept was a hit, in spite of initial hostility and opposition, and was soon adopted in all Provinces and became a Federal Government Policy. This was an act of general compassion towards the Canadian People on the part of Mr. Douglas and his colleagues, the Members of The Saskatchewan Legislature. Canadians still desire compassion and we like to express it in our societal systems.
Let’s embrace compassion and heal the sore mouths, heads, and other suffering parts of Canadians, which result from dental problems. Let us affirm once again that our mouths are in our heads and that our heads remain firmly in place, attached to our bodies. Our teeth need funding just as our waterfowl do and just as our culture does, and just as our reputation does.
Canadians are in need of publicly founded, funded and managed Dental Education and Care just as we do for our bodies, minds, eyes, ears, feet, and all other areas of human medical specialization. Dentists want to help people and such a system will enable a more balanced sharing of resources that will very quickly make us all richer, more productive, healthier and happier.
It will make us an even greater nation. Our public medical care system is something that distinguishes us as a nation internationally. It’s an expression of the Justice and Compassion of the Canadian identity.
Today there is much earnest debate about the future of medicare and many models are being proposed and implemented in response to perceived conditions and circumstances. Some might prefer to eliminate medicare entirely and let Canadians return to a former and more primitive method of caring for themselves, their families, their neighbours and everyone across this great land.
The Medicare system has served Canadians well as individuals and as a nation. It employs a workforce of competent and well-trained medical practitioners. Yet costs are skyrocketing and personnel are in short supply. So far no one has suggested that we employ reliable preventative health systems, which I know to exist and be available; and which we could implement for dental care.
Doctors have also prospered far beyond what most of them would have managed without government medical delivery systems. Everyone wins in these public agreements; at least everyone should win.
When Mr. Douglas introduced the Bill for Universal Medicare in The Saskatchewan Legislature, his plan and dream was not to stop with this step and measure. He pointed out that hospital insurance had been the first step and had been received warmly and economically by the society.
Medicare, he pointed out, was the second step. “Optometrics”, treatment for eyes and access to eye-wear funding, was third. [This is something that has been of great importance to me as a former blind person who received restorative eye surgery which was paid for by the Canadian people via OHIP. Thank you.] And the jewel in Premier Douglas’ medical crown of coverage was intended to be dental care. After all, nothing gives that final luster to a person like a bright, shiny, healthy smile.
I believe it could be easily demonstrated that we could deliver better and universally accessible dental care to the citizens of Canada. Rather than tearing away that single thing which Canadians have proven is closest to their collective community heart in choosing Tommy Douglas as The Greatest Canadian, we should complete the Dream.
While others call for a compromise of the health care system, I call for the logical expansion to follow the first three steps already accomplished in this persistent Canadian Dream. We should institute Universal Dental Care in The Province of Ontario, and in all provinces, territories and regions of Canada.
Dental problems are a plague on our citizens and economy and we could change that easily, and inexpensively, and quickly. These previous measures have stabilized and civilized Canada and have made us the best place in the world to live. Be brave. Move forward and grasp The Dream.
Peace.
“Don’t keep the peace…pass it on.”
“Life is a team sport.”
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Icebergs At Risk: Global Reforestation
I’ve just had a thought (Vision!) of how the Reforestation of The Earth could be achieved with relative ease. This plan would also have huge and far-reaching positive economic, cultural and social results and consequences.
The “Have” nations could provide funding, perhaps through the United Nations which is presently looking for its “teeth” in the wake of last week’s disappointing UN summit with 160 world leaders. They are seeking effective reform, but they suffer from the same malady as the Government of Canada, lack of Vision. My vision for Canada could tie nicely into a Global UN initiative that more effectively addresses the true Crisis that threatens Humanity.
A significant part of the threat is environmental and ecological. My hypothesis (which could be scientifically verified) is that vast and immediate reforestation of The Earth could readily and quickly begin to solve many of our environmental problems, including Global Warming.
But I do not believe this initiative should be launched in The United Nations. Rather I believe that this should be a unilateral initiative by Canada. We can and should provide leadership. We possess the technology to do so. ( Besides, we have so many icebergs at risk.)
In my lifetime, and this is not a-typical of Canadians, I’ve planted at least over 200,000 trees, and I was well paid for doing so. Some of those trees must have taken root and will be producing oxygen as I write. Other may have become this paper.
Imagine if every able bodied person between fourteen and fifty planted 200,000 trees, or even 2000 which can be done in a day or two with the proper preparation, care, tools and technology (which is relatively simple by the way).
But there’s more. And there’s more healing in the More. What if the care, nurture, planning, design, maintenance and oversight of these Global Forests were put in the hands of the world’s aboriginal peoples. In fact they know better how to do this than anyone, as we’ve finally realized in Canada where ancient aboriginal forestry technologies are finally being understood, respected and implemented at governmental levels.
It has recently been realized that the amazing forests that existed in Canada when Europeans began to settle here were not wild in large part. They were cultivated and watched by the aboriginal peoples who dwelt within their bounds; propagated and managed into Global resources.
These people consider the trees, forest, wildlife, plant life and The Bush altogether to be sacred, along with The Earth and all that is in it. They could and would provide good care for this essential oxygen making Resource. And in the process they would regain their dignity and freedom. We need them and we need their help if this Global Family is to survive.
Imagine this. I have.
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The “Have” nations could provide funding, perhaps through the United Nations which is presently looking for its “teeth” in the wake of last week’s disappointing UN summit with 160 world leaders. They are seeking effective reform, but they suffer from the same malady as the Government of Canada, lack of Vision. My vision for Canada could tie nicely into a Global UN initiative that more effectively addresses the true Crisis that threatens Humanity.
A significant part of the threat is environmental and ecological. My hypothesis (which could be scientifically verified) is that vast and immediate reforestation of The Earth could readily and quickly begin to solve many of our environmental problems, including Global Warming.
But I do not believe this initiative should be launched in The United Nations. Rather I believe that this should be a unilateral initiative by Canada. We can and should provide leadership. We possess the technology to do so. ( Besides, we have so many icebergs at risk.)
In my lifetime, and this is not a-typical of Canadians, I’ve planted at least over 200,000 trees, and I was well paid for doing so. Some of those trees must have taken root and will be producing oxygen as I write. Other may have become this paper.
Imagine if every able bodied person between fourteen and fifty planted 200,000 trees, or even 2000 which can be done in a day or two with the proper preparation, care, tools and technology (which is relatively simple by the way).
But there’s more. And there’s more healing in the More. What if the care, nurture, planning, design, maintenance and oversight of these Global Forests were put in the hands of the world’s aboriginal peoples. In fact they know better how to do this than anyone, as we’ve finally realized in Canada where ancient aboriginal forestry technologies are finally being understood, respected and implemented at governmental levels.
It has recently been realized that the amazing forests that existed in Canada when Europeans began to settle here were not wild in large part. They were cultivated and watched by the aboriginal peoples who dwelt within their bounds; propagated and managed into Global resources.
These people consider the trees, forest, wildlife, plant life and The Bush altogether to be sacred, along with The Earth and all that is in it. They could and would provide good care for this essential oxygen making Resource. And in the process they would regain their dignity and freedom. We need them and we need their help if this Global Family is to survive.
Imagine this. I have.
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The Transformation of Culture
Human culture is a complex tool or set of tools. Culture provides a meaningful and useful set of behaviours by which the needs of its practitioners may be satisfied: food, shelter, safety, art, et cetera. However, these cultures which are developed by peoples have a limited period of usefulness, after which their continued use can be counter-productive, a liability rather than a benefit.
As human cultures have evolved they have become increasingly more complex so that in the year 2000 C.E. we have a multitude of choices and a plethora of samples - modern, antique or ancient. The Universal Culture has been asserting itself, especially in “western” countries.
The Universal Culture includes hi-tech wizardry like computers and the Internet, flight and other modes of automated transportation, television, food, beverages, belief systems, literatures, politics, science and so much more…all things from all places and peoples are coalescing into a single stream.
If the dominant culture does not fulfill the purposes for which cultures are developed and applied, to “provide a meaningful and useful set of behaviours by which…our needs may be satisfied”, then it is necessary to further examine what we are doing with an eye to making effective changes whereby our genuine needs will be met.
How does one transform culture or bring about a transformation of culture? I do not believe that any one of us can do this. It is by nature a collective activity. But we do have tools by which our needs may be examined or met. Reason and debate and analysis and discussion and imaginative creativity are some effective tools for the pursuit of this collective goal - the transformation of culture.
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As human cultures have evolved they have become increasingly more complex so that in the year 2000 C.E. we have a multitude of choices and a plethora of samples - modern, antique or ancient. The Universal Culture has been asserting itself, especially in “western” countries.
The Universal Culture includes hi-tech wizardry like computers and the Internet, flight and other modes of automated transportation, television, food, beverages, belief systems, literatures, politics, science and so much more…all things from all places and peoples are coalescing into a single stream.
If the dominant culture does not fulfill the purposes for which cultures are developed and applied, to “provide a meaningful and useful set of behaviours by which…our needs may be satisfied”, then it is necessary to further examine what we are doing with an eye to making effective changes whereby our genuine needs will be met.
How does one transform culture or bring about a transformation of culture? I do not believe that any one of us can do this. It is by nature a collective activity. But we do have tools by which our needs may be examined or met. Reason and debate and analysis and discussion and imaginative creativity are some effective tools for the pursuit of this collective goal - the transformation of culture.
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The Principle of Resistance
Something in the human heart leaps to life and action when it hears these words, “You cannot!” A spark ignites a primitive aspect of our nature that resists the perceived attitude of condescension and denial of freedom to do and to be as we please.
For within the human heart there lives an image of what we can be and do. This is the urge to liberty, the primal need for freedom of thought, action, movement, and expression. This is the Revolutionary Spirit.
This innate urge resists any attitude that denies the complete and overall freedom it requires to be that person we believe ourselves to be within, or to become, given the opportunity. There is much necessity for this spirit of resistance, for there are many voices that tell us, “You cannot achieve your goals, fulfill your destiny, realize your dreams! You cannot, I tell you.”
But the smoldering human spirit, quiet when left alone, defies the experts and pundits and the advantaged. “I can! And I will!” it says, sometimes with quiet defiance, sometimes in a loud audible voice ornamented with blood and sacrifice.
The tyrants who believe they are divinely appointed to rule their world, big or small, say, “You cannot defeat me and be free.” But the quiet spirit of contentment is quickly displaced by the inner voice that responds, “I can topple you!”
So went the experience of the parent who wished to restrain the teenager. And so goes the experience of the economically advantaged, of spouses in marriage, of teachers, of religious and political leaders, of cults and communities and cultures that wittingly or not seek to restrain the spirit of human creativity and evolution.
Freedom cannot be contained nor restrained.
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For within the human heart there lives an image of what we can be and do. This is the urge to liberty, the primal need for freedom of thought, action, movement, and expression. This is the Revolutionary Spirit.
This innate urge resists any attitude that denies the complete and overall freedom it requires to be that person we believe ourselves to be within, or to become, given the opportunity. There is much necessity for this spirit of resistance, for there are many voices that tell us, “You cannot achieve your goals, fulfill your destiny, realize your dreams! You cannot, I tell you.”
But the smoldering human spirit, quiet when left alone, defies the experts and pundits and the advantaged. “I can! And I will!” it says, sometimes with quiet defiance, sometimes in a loud audible voice ornamented with blood and sacrifice.
The tyrants who believe they are divinely appointed to rule their world, big or small, say, “You cannot defeat me and be free.” But the quiet spirit of contentment is quickly displaced by the inner voice that responds, “I can topple you!”
So went the experience of the parent who wished to restrain the teenager. And so goes the experience of the economically advantaged, of spouses in marriage, of teachers, of religious and political leaders, of cults and communities and cultures that wittingly or not seek to restrain the spirit of human creativity and evolution.
Freedom cannot be contained nor restrained.
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Monday, September 5, 2011
Ice As A Factor In The Development Of The Canadian Character
I’ve come up with an idea about something that seems to have helped shape and condition the Canadian Character. My notion is that since we must often function on Ice here in The Great White North we have, as a consequence, adjusted our thinking and behavior to survive on icy surfaces.
Our “national sport” is hockey, after all. We play broomball, figure skate, speed skate, dance skate, just plain skate, curl, ringette, and generally navigate through the icy environment much of the time. Ice makes people cautious. One must remain stable, go slow, be steady and alert and balanced. There is always the chance of falling. So Ice lends uncertainly to situations.
We build ice castles, sculpt in ice, fish on and through the ice. And if one includes sub-groups of Ice, there is snow!! And we also do lots on snow. From skiing downhill or cross-country to Winter camping and snow-shoeing, from building snowforts and igloos to skidooing, Canadians have developed attitudes and lifestyle technologies that take into account cold, slippery and treacherous surfaces.
The frigid environment that produces all of this Ice and Ice-consciousness is also a large factor in the Canadian Character. The very air, the wind, the water and the large amount of white, frozen precipitation makes the Canadian wary in every environment. It’s difficult to be brash and boastful in the midst of a malevolent climatic environment.
This weather produces many hazards for the inhabitants of The Great White North. From ice-bergs to avalanches to the hazards of frozen lakes to the interruption of road, air, and rail travel, we are constantly put upon by our harsh Winter conditions.
There is nothing in the frozen white landscape so disturbing as thin ice, except perhaps an avalanche of the same material. Ice brings many hazards. It can wound, injure and kill or instill an eternal chill into the bones and flesh and sinues so that “bone-chilling” becomes a familiar and life-threatening spinal experience.
Ice can take our toes, our fingers, hands, noses, eyebrows and ears. It can put us in a jam at sea and give us a “brain freeze” in the height of summer. It hampers our plans and our machinery and affects our planning. Ice can put us out of control suddenly and in many dangerous situations on roads, hills, steps and stairs, on ramps, sidewalks, or on the way to get groceries.
Yet Ice also brings an abundance of benefits and we have sought to capture this slippery element and put it in our daily service. Frozen foods and frozen dinners, desserts, drinks and juices, meats and veggies and fruits, icecream and ice cubes and frozen yogurt; all of these have become parts of our daily culture along with the technologies that support them while keeping us cool in house or car and preserving our food.
Ice has gathered to itself meaning and metaphor and significance of symbolic types. It teaches us lessons, gives us relief and hope and builds spontaneous bridges that are risky and temporary, across unpassable chasms. Ice is the solid and chilly expression of the larger part of our earthly physical environment and the bulk of our own physical substance.
Today there is freezing rain falling to beautify and simultaneously make our environment dangerous. The beautiful and shimmering coat of Ice on the majestic oak can bring it suddenly crashing down upon us. Everything becomes slippery, tenuous and unpredictable. Life slows down and requires special caution from us if we intend to survive the day intact.
Ice has not only become a part of our culture, habits and thinking. It has forced upon us the necessities inherent in its presence and in so doing has shaped our thinking, our feelings, our actions, our values and aesthetics. It has penetrated into the deep and influential parts of our collective and individual imagination and has taught us a way of life that requires co-operation and collective action. Our psyches and our society in Canada have, in many ways, been shaped by this environmental reality. Here we know that Ice can preserve us or destroy us and that it deserves our attention and respect.
Much of life is slippery like Ice.
Jake Willis - Guelph, Ontario, Canada
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Our “national sport” is hockey, after all. We play broomball, figure skate, speed skate, dance skate, just plain skate, curl, ringette, and generally navigate through the icy environment much of the time. Ice makes people cautious. One must remain stable, go slow, be steady and alert and balanced. There is always the chance of falling. So Ice lends uncertainly to situations.
We build ice castles, sculpt in ice, fish on and through the ice. And if one includes sub-groups of Ice, there is snow!! And we also do lots on snow. From skiing downhill or cross-country to Winter camping and snow-shoeing, from building snowforts and igloos to skidooing, Canadians have developed attitudes and lifestyle technologies that take into account cold, slippery and treacherous surfaces.
The frigid environment that produces all of this Ice and Ice-consciousness is also a large factor in the Canadian Character. The very air, the wind, the water and the large amount of white, frozen precipitation makes the Canadian wary in every environment. It’s difficult to be brash and boastful in the midst of a malevolent climatic environment.
This weather produces many hazards for the inhabitants of The Great White North. From ice-bergs to avalanches to the hazards of frozen lakes to the interruption of road, air, and rail travel, we are constantly put upon by our harsh Winter conditions.
There is nothing in the frozen white landscape so disturbing as thin ice, except perhaps an avalanche of the same material. Ice brings many hazards. It can wound, injure and kill or instill an eternal chill into the bones and flesh and sinues so that “bone-chilling” becomes a familiar and life-threatening spinal experience.
Ice can take our toes, our fingers, hands, noses, eyebrows and ears. It can put us in a jam at sea and give us a “brain freeze” in the height of summer. It hampers our plans and our machinery and affects our planning. Ice can put us out of control suddenly and in many dangerous situations on roads, hills, steps and stairs, on ramps, sidewalks, or on the way to get groceries.
Yet Ice also brings an abundance of benefits and we have sought to capture this slippery element and put it in our daily service. Frozen foods and frozen dinners, desserts, drinks and juices, meats and veggies and fruits, icecream and ice cubes and frozen yogurt; all of these have become parts of our daily culture along with the technologies that support them while keeping us cool in house or car and preserving our food.
Ice has gathered to itself meaning and metaphor and significance of symbolic types. It teaches us lessons, gives us relief and hope and builds spontaneous bridges that are risky and temporary, across unpassable chasms. Ice is the solid and chilly expression of the larger part of our earthly physical environment and the bulk of our own physical substance.
Today there is freezing rain falling to beautify and simultaneously make our environment dangerous. The beautiful and shimmering coat of Ice on the majestic oak can bring it suddenly crashing down upon us. Everything becomes slippery, tenuous and unpredictable. Life slows down and requires special caution from us if we intend to survive the day intact.
Ice has not only become a part of our culture, habits and thinking. It has forced upon us the necessities inherent in its presence and in so doing has shaped our thinking, our feelings, our actions, our values and aesthetics. It has penetrated into the deep and influential parts of our collective and individual imagination and has taught us a way of life that requires co-operation and collective action. Our psyches and our society in Canada have, in many ways, been shaped by this environmental reality. Here we know that Ice can preserve us or destroy us and that it deserves our attention and respect.
Much of life is slippery like Ice.
Jake Willis - Guelph, Ontario, Canada
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Functionality
Functional people, families, organizations, institutions and nations get things done and they do the right things, in the right ways, at the right time. This is Functionality. It is the consequence of healthy living and a proper sense of independence. It requires focused, persistent, clear-minded hard work and a balanced approach to life.
“Dysfunctional” means that these things cannot be achieved on a consistent and ongoing basis. It is the inability to function in healthy and productive ways.
“Dysfunctional” means that these things cannot be achieved on a consistent and ongoing basis. It is the inability to function in healthy and productive ways.
Creativity
I am convinced that there is a place where the human imagination interfaces with the mind of God. Like some spiritual placenta a human soul feeds upon the boundless creative energy that is God and is in God.
It is not at all unusual for a creative surge to occur when one has, perhaps by misfortunate circumstance, been driven into the arms and presence of God. In the aftermath of such periods of trial and often error, we open ourselves to the satisfying comfort of God's person.
When our person meets God's we are inflooded with the creative power of which God consists. That creativity surges through our entire being and sets about a chain-reaction of events and experiences which can result in the creation of some previously non-existent phenomenon.
The most agreeable and desirable form for this type of creative impulse is that wherein one has securely attached oneself to that divine placenta. This brings about a creative flow which can enable a person to be in a constant state of creativity and, with Sustained Intentionality, can result in a wide-ranging benefit to oneself and the community at large.
This approach leads to and is instrumental in the evolution of stability of character and reliability in business and in all aspects of life. This is, of necessity, a balanced, disciplined, caring, and focused approach to life.
Jake Willis copyright Guelph, Ontario, May 25, 1998. 1:20 a.m. [15 minutes]
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It is not at all unusual for a creative surge to occur when one has, perhaps by misfortunate circumstance, been driven into the arms and presence of God. In the aftermath of such periods of trial and often error, we open ourselves to the satisfying comfort of God's person.
When our person meets God's we are inflooded with the creative power of which God consists. That creativity surges through our entire being and sets about a chain-reaction of events and experiences which can result in the creation of some previously non-existent phenomenon.
The most agreeable and desirable form for this type of creative impulse is that wherein one has securely attached oneself to that divine placenta. This brings about a creative flow which can enable a person to be in a constant state of creativity and, with Sustained Intentionality, can result in a wide-ranging benefit to oneself and the community at large.
This approach leads to and is instrumental in the evolution of stability of character and reliability in business and in all aspects of life. This is, of necessity, a balanced, disciplined, caring, and focused approach to life.
Jake Willis copyright Guelph, Ontario, May 25, 1998. 1:20 a.m. [15 minutes]
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