Pointing Fingers

While checking in on a patient in the ICU today, I noticed that on his TV was playing the interrogation of the recently appointed AIG CEO on CNN. It was interesting to hear the congressmen berate him and chastise him for the sins of his company. It felt good to hear him get yelled at, to hear the speakers talk of their suffering constituents, and get angry at the audacity of the contract writers to ensure that regardless of whether the company succeeded or failed, the executives would receive their promised retention bonuses.

When I got home and turned on CNN, I continued to watch as everyone was trying to figure out who to point the finger at for this tragedy. Eventually, after watching enough news, I became acutely aware of certain things
1. If anyone dare say that we are not all born with a sinful nature, that everyone is born good, then I beg them to tell me how come we don't need to teach kids how to lie, but have to spend their whole upbringing instilling them with the strength of character to tell the truth

2. We are outraged at the avarice of these AIG perpetrators, but do we ever look at ourselves, and the actions of our daily lives?

So many times in the hospitals I see people, from Administrators, Doctors, nurses to foodservers and housekeepers who make it their goal to do the least amount of work for their pay, who do not look at the big picture which is the patients' well being and satisfaction, but who choose to cut corners in their work, whether to save the hospital money or because they can't be bothered with the leg work. All to make their lives easier because after all no one is watching.

Just today I had to yell at the secretary at a hospital I did a Trauma Surgery rotation at way back in November, because she'd known for months that my evaluation was not done because of the fact that they did not have a picture of me, and not only did she choose not to notify me of this, but she never returned any of my calls since November. I had to get my school to contact her, and when we finally spoke today, she tried to skirt the issue when I pointed out her negligence, saying that it was all beside the point, that I'd better submit my picture if I want my eval to be done.

3. We are so enraged but if these same shady business dealings were making us money, we wouldn't have cared, which is how we got in this mess in the first place. Why is it that we as a society only seem to care if something is being done wrong when it affects us?


I pray for the US government officials right now who are trying to bring a change to the way that business is being done in this country, because I know that theirs is an almost impossible battle. I say this because there is simply no amount of legislation that can erase the fact that we are sinful creatures, prone to selfishness and greed and without the Holy Spirit strong within our hearts, guiding our paths, we will always chose that which is easy over that which is hard; that which is profitable over that which is right.

While we point a finger at ex-president Bush or the current administration, or AIG, I encourage all of us to look at ourselves and see if there is anything in the way that we go about our lives that may need some serious reform as well.