Two patients lie in the emergency room, beset by mysterious pains. When the ) doctor arrives, one patient asks, "What's wrong with me?" The other patient, who is an addict, pleads only, "Can you give me something for the pain?" The two questions come from different universes.
The U.S. has got into the habit of responding to its crises by lurching into emergency rooms and pleading for the painkiller first. Some important part of the American mind has gone over into a territory of denial and evasion.
Once the avoidance begins to work, the patient cares less about the diagnosis. Fear...
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