Connecting health care and empathy - how to do it?

[EdwinRutsch]

Obama connected the Supreme Court and Justice to empathy by saying one
of the criteria for selecting a justice would be that they have
empathy.
The Obama campaign is now starting to gear up for the health care
debates and legislation.

How can empathy be brought into the health care debates?

We're trying to do it with the Empathy Healthcare Cafe listed below.
What suggestions do you have for making the connection?

(BTW, we had 17 people at our planning meeting this Saturday and hope
to draw around 80 for the Empathy Healthcare Cafe.)

Edwin


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The Empathy Healthcare Cafe: Redwood Gardens in Berkeley, June 25th,
7-9 pm


  -----------------------------------------------------------
"I often say we’ve got a budget deficit that’s important, we’ve got a
trade deficit that’s critical, but what I worry about most is our
empathy deficit." Barack Obama
 -----------------------------------------------------------

How can We Change Healthcare to Address What Obama calls the Empathy
Deficit?
June will be a big month for Healthcare as the Obama administration
and Organizing for America are launching events and house parties in
preparation for the Healthcare discussions in Congress. We will hold
an Empathy Healthcare Cafe at Redwoods Gardens in Berkeley on
Thursday, June 25th, to help promote discussion and action. In the
Empathy Healthcare Cafe we will share personal stories about the
relationship between an empathetic society and healthcare. Come join
the weekly planning meetings to create this event. Please pass it on.



 -----------------------------------------------------------
"Barack always says that one of our greatest challenges as a nation is
not a deficit of resources - for we are one of the riches countries in
the world; and it’s not deficit of policies, because we have some of
the greatest minds working on these issues. Instead, our greatest
challenge is that we are living in a time when we are suffering from a
deep empathy deficit." Michelle Obama
 -----------------------------------------------------------

We will use the World Cafe meeting approach to discuss, gather and
video tape personal stories. We have a series of 'Empathy Healthcare
Cafe - Event Planning' meetings lined up in Berkeley, see below. We
hope you will take part and share your stories and insights and then
help find concrete ways to fill the empathy deficit.



 -----------------------------------------------------------
"We have the opportunity to make a habit of empathy, to recognize
ourselves in each other, to commit ourselves to resisting injustice
and intolerance and indifference, in whatever forms they may take,
whether confronting those who tell lies about history, or doing
everything we can to prevent and end atrocities like those that took
place in Rwanda, those taking place in Darfur. That is my commitment
as president. I hope that is yours as well. It will not be easy."
President Obama
 -----------------------------------------------------------

Here's our meeting schedule, you can sign up at the links below.
http://progressivespirit.com/Empathy/Meetings.htm

June 13, 2009, Saturday 2-5 pm
Empathy Healthcare Cafe - Event Planning

@ Sustainability Center
2105 Martin Luther King Jr Way, Berkeley, CA
( 2 blocks from downtown Berkeley BART..)
Signup at:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/healthcareorganizingkickoff/gpcsfy

 June 20, 2009, Saturday 2-5 pm
Empathy Healthcare Cafe - Event Planning
@ Sustainability Center
2105 Martin Luther King Jr Way, Berkeley, CA
Signup at:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/healthcareorganizingkickoff/gpcqj3

June 25th, 2009, Thursday 7-9 pm
The Empathy Healthcare Cafe!
@ Redwoods Gardens
2951 Derby St, Berkeley, CA 94705
How can We Change Healthcare to Address What Obama calls the
Empathy Deficit?
Signup at:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/manage/gpcqdw
Video of Site: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsfKYEtDEg8

June 27, 2009, Saturday 2-5 pm
Empathy Healthcare Cafe - Debriefing Meeting
@ TBA
http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gpcbk3
To see more of President Obama talking about the importance of empathy
see:
Barack Obama and a New Spirit of Empathy   (1hr 49 min)
http://progressivespirit.com/Empathy/References/About-Empathy.htm
Compiled from about 38 of his speeches and interviews, etc. on the
topic of empathy.
Join the Empathy Cafe discussion list.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EmpathyCafe
send an email to
EmpathyCaf...@yahoogroups.com

best

Edwin Rutsch
http://progressivespirit.com/Empathy