Eight score years ago, our society lived under the shadow of death. For every person who died of old age, contagious diseases struck eight others down in the prime of their lives. Under this dark shadow of death, a public health system was born that became a beacon of light and hope to people everywhere.
But one hundred and sixty years later, our public health system finds itself at a crossroad. One hundred sixty years later, our public health system has crumbled from neglect in the midst of a vast land of material prosperity. One hundred and sixty years later, our great public health system finds itself threatened by organizational inefficiencies, jurisdictional irrationalities, chronic underfunding and social and cultural discounting. And so I come to you today to dramatize this shameful condition.
When the architects of our public health system began, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all people would be guaranteed the unalienable right to a life free from the fear of epidemic diseases. It is obvious today that we have defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as public health is concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, public health and its faithful servants have been denied the credit they justly deserve, the credit for eradicating diseases and improving the health of our fellow citizens.
But our society refuses to believe that our public health system is in default. Our society refuses to believe that there are insufficient funds in our public health system accounts. And so we have come to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to rest on the laurels of our past or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to restore the real promises of public health.
But there is something that I must say to our public health professionals. Two thousand and eleven does not have to be the day of reckoning for public health. Rather, this ending of public health as we know it could really be the coming together of a new beginning, a beginning that belongs to those who continue to believe in the dream. A beginning that could eventually unite our programs and make them stronger and more effective.
My fellow public health professionals, we must not allow ideological shifts and downward economic cycles to deflect us from our responsibility to the health of our communities. We must not wallow in the trials and tribulations of the moment. I say to you today my fellow public health professionals, believe in the dream, rediscover the spirit of urgency and purpose that was present at the creation of public health and harness its energy to change this situation.
So to all who care about public health, continue your work with the faith and energy that initially attracted you to this profession. For it is through your work that the deposits of your efforts and the dividends of your dedication will be redeemed.
I still have a dream. I have a dream that one day the public health profession will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed. A dream that public health and the people who serve within it will one day receive the recognition and respect they deserve. A dream that no matter where a person lives or the socioeconomic bracket they may be in, they can one day enjoy a land free from the fear of epidemic disease. For if America is to continue to be a great nation, this dream must become true.
If the above speech sounds familiar, it was inspired while I was listening to
Dr. Martin Luther King's I Have a Dream speech. Thanks to Dr. King for the inspiration.
1 comments:
Robert, Excellent article. Exceptional Dream that I hope becomes true as well. This article should be read by all Public Health officials and political bodies that want to destroy our Public Health System and those loyal Public Health Servants that attempt to carry out that Public Health Dream every day. "I to Have a Public Health Dream"
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