Let's face it, in America today we don't have a health care

The words of Tom Harkin — “Let’s face it, in America today we don’t have a health care system, we have a sick care system.” — are not merely a statement of criticism; they are a lament for a society that has forgotten the art of prevention and the wisdom of balance. Beneath his words lies a truth as ancient as medicine itself: that the greatest healer is not the one who cures disease, but the one who prevents it from arising. Harkin’s declaration is a cry for a return to harmony — a reminder that health is not a commodity to be bought in crisis, but a way of living to be nurtured daily.

In the wisdom of old, health was not seen as a battle against illness, but as a covenant between body, mind, and spirit. The physicians of ancient Greece, following Hippocrates, taught that the best doctor was nature herself, and that the role of man was to aid her through moderation, movement, and mindfulness. The sages of China spoke of Qi — the life energy that flows through all things — and taught that to preserve health, one must live in tune with the seasons, the breath, and the heart. Harkin’s words echo this timeless philosophy: that a society obsessed with treating sickness has forgotten the higher wisdom of preserving wellness.

The origin of his insight comes from decades of observation within the American health system — a system that spends more on medicine than any nation in history, yet sees its people grow weaker in body and spirit. Harkin, long a champion of preventive care and holistic wellness, saw the imbalance firsthand: hospitals overflowing, pharmaceuticals multiplying, yet chronic diseases rising year after year. What he condemned was not the dedication of doctors or nurses, but the structure of a system that waits until people are broken before it begins to care. He saw a nation tending its fires only when the house is already burning.

Consider the story of Dr. John Snow, the 19th-century physician who, during a deadly cholera outbreak in London, realized that healing would not come from treating the sick alone, but from removing the pump handle that spread the disease. His wisdom — that true medicine begins with prevention — transformed public health forever. In the same spirit, Harkin calls upon modern society to look upstream, to mend the well before the water poisons the village. For every life saved by emergency medicine, countless others could be spared by cleaner air, healthier food, and the teaching of good habits.

Harkin’s warning also holds a deeper moral lesson. A “sick care system” reflects not only medical failure, but spiritual blindness. When a people forget that the body is sacred, they also forget that the earth which nourishes it must be cared for. A culture that feeds on excess and exhaustion cannot sustain health. To cure this sickness, one must heal the values beneath it — to restore gratitude for simplicity, discipline for indulgence, and community for isolation. For wellness is not an individual pursuit, but a collective practice.

Yet there is hope. Across the world, a quiet revolution grows — of farmers planting organic food, of cities building bike paths, of schools teaching meditation, of workplaces embracing balance. This is the spirit Harkin envisioned: a society that invests not only in hospitals, but in habits; not only in medicine, but in meaning. For health is not built in clinics, but in kitchens, gardens, and hearts.

So, my child, remember this enduring truth: to live well is to live wisely. Seek health before illness, moderation before indulgence, and balance before collapse. Care for your body as you would care for a temple, and for your neighbor’s well-being as you would your own. For in the harmony of all lives lies the true wealth of any nation.

Let Harkin’s words be both warning and prophecy — that a nation that waits to treat disease will always be sick, but a nation that learns to cherish health will flourish in strength, spirit, and joy. The future belongs not to those who build more hospitals, but to those who build healthier lives.