Coronavirus and our Public Policy Pathology
COVID-19 (the novel coronavirus) is revealing the seriousness of our public policy failures here in the U.S. It begins with our lack of universal healthcare.
JustSouth Quarterly Winter 2020
Getting in the Game: On Advocacy and Activism
As of the writing of this essay, the Democratic presidential primary is underway and the Louisiana Legislative session will begin on March 9. I considered writing about the necessity of doing our civic duty to vote. While this is true, I decided to go one-step further in how we discuss civic duty.
A Prophetic Voice: Guatemalan Cardinal Visits Distraught Mississippi Immigrant Families
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<p>Dr. Weishar reflects on Cardinal Ramazzini's visit to Mississippi.</p>
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Early in his pontificate Pope Francis presented his vision of the Church in the world-- that of a “field hospital” for the wounded. In a 2013 interview with Jesuit journalist Antonio Spadaro, S.J., he said,
JustSouth Quarterly Fall 2019
Failing the Moral Test as a Nation
The Trump Administration’s capitulation to a Turkish invasion of Kurdish regions of Syria has begun to displace thousands of Kurdish civilians fleeing war’s destruction and death. They join more than 70 million refugees and internally displaced people fleeing for their lives worldwide.
After the Mississippi ICE Raids: Families Ask Why; Churches Respond
JustSouth Quarterly Summer 2019
Medicare and Medicaid: 54 Years and Counting
On July 30, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed into law Medicare and Medicaid. These programs were created to provide access to health care to those most likely to be uninsured: the elderly (Medicare) and the poor (Medicaid). Indeed, a majority of these folks did not have health insurance; and, if they did have access to care through the network of charity hospitals, it was largely limited and stigmatizing.
Context Matters
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<p>Dr. Mitchell speaks to the history of racism in the U.S.</p>
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Have you ever noticed that during any conversation about racism, someone will inevitably say that “no one alive today was a slave” or that “segregation ended a long time ago—get over it!” It’s a pretty common response to assertions about the impact of racism. When someone says that, all that is being asserted is that history does not matter...and we all know that isn’t true.