Organizing for America | Carolyn Carrier's Blog: Open Letter to Ashton Kutcher

Open Letter to Ashton Kutcher

By Carolyn Carrier - Aug 16th, 2009 at 7:50 pm EDT

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Dear Ashton,

Not everyone who needs a triple heart bypass has led an unhealthy lifestyle. You may be too young to remember but Arthur Ashe, one of America's greatest athletes who led an extremely healthy lifestyle needed a quadruple bypass surgery (some people inherit conditions that have nothing to do with their lifestyles). Not only that, during one of his surgeries he contracted HIV. This was due to human error not his lifestyle choices.

I get it that you believe that all illness comes from lifestyle choice, but consider this. I had a friend who died from complications from diabetes--she was ten years old. She hadn't had much time to develop lifestyle choices.

I recently watched a movie of the life of Ernie Davis, a football player who died at the age of 23 from Leukemia. What should he have done better to avoid his disease?

This thing of blaming the victim reminds me of people who say rape victims are partially responsible because their clothing might be provocative. People get sick. They get sick through no fault of their own. I'm sure the folks who went on vacation and contracted H1N1 flu could have done nothing to avoid contracting that disease.

As a retired educator I am blessed to be able to purchase health care and I have many options. Since I am relatively healthy and have not chronic disease I selected the cheapest option at a cost of $111 per month. Of course, next year this cost goes up to $121. Still cheaper than the $700+ per month that many of my friends pay. Many people cannot afford to pay these high premiums so they have no health care. Guess what, the rest of us pay for them anyway. They go to the emergency room and we pay and pay!

I find it interesting that those people who become enraged at the prospect of a public option or universal health care have no problem with free education or free universal police and fire protection. How about we only put out fires in houses lived in by those who pay taxes. That would probably by all right with them until fire broke out next door.

I was an educator for over 30 years and during that time there were many work stoppages (strikes). During those times, thank God one of my children did not get sick, get hit by a car or get struck by lightning because guess what they would not have been covered.

By the way my house did catch fire in 1975. I'm glad that the fire department didn't stop to check on my tax payer status before putting out the fire!

So Ashton, I hope you never become ill because that would mean you had made a bad lifestyle choice. Luckily for you, though, you are wealthy and have excellent health care and can chose the best doctors, the best treatment and the best facility even though it would probably have been your own fault!

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