Humane Responsabilities

As an avid admirer of Paul Farmer, physician, medical anthropologist, and leading public health advocate, I brought several of his books with me to Colombia as helpful informants for my research. I am currently reading
Pathologies of Power: Health, Human Rights, and the New War on the Poor which explores examples of structural violence through essays concerning health issues in third world countries. Right up my alley.

In the introduction, Farmer poses a very salient point:

"Anyone who wishes to be considered humane has ample cause to consider what it means to be sick and poor in the era of globalization and scientific advancement."

It should be noted that in this book Farmer is obviously talking to a first-world audience whose daily concerns do not include sickness and poverty. Obviously the people who are Farmer's subjects of study do not have the luxury of contemplating what it means to be humane. Although I do not think that society should be preoccupied with how others 'consider' us but should rather make it a priority to incorporate humanitarian concerns into our participation into globalization efforts and the implementation of scientific advancement, it is interesting how Farmer bases the statement in the importance of external validation.

In an age where political correctness is our code of conduct and human rights offenses are defined by media coverage, the public lens is an important rubric by which to qualify our actions. Take Greg Mortenson for example, who has been building girls' schools throughout Afghanistan for almost ten years fighting the Taliban with education. He was obviously a do-gooder long before he wrote his book Three Cups of Tea, but has found international acceptance of his cause through a best-seller with loads of impressive reviews (including recognition by Nicholas Kristoff in an Op-Ed column that appeared in the NYT on July 13). By using the word 'considered', in my opinion Farmer holds people less accountable for their humanitarian actions than the global situation demands. As established in Pathologies of Power, the current global juxtoposition represented by disparities between the ubiquitous poverty-based suffering in third-world countries and the resources of prosperous nations demands that everyone take interest in the sick and poor.