Thursday, December 26, 2013

Epiphanies about January 6th and the Star of Bethlehem


 The Magi & the Star of Bethlehem as Symbol & Science

Image result for star of bethlehem

Evelyn Smith

MS in Library Science, University of North Texas (2012)

Ph.D. in English, Texas Christian University (1995)

The days before December 25th typically signify the speculation season when what’s left of Higher Criticism attempts to prove the Christmas story by coming up with natural explanations for the Star of Bethlehem and therefore the exact year and season of Jesus Christ’s birth. Most of these rationalizations, however, simply turn up far too soon since the Christmas season in most parts of Christendom traditionally didn’t—and still doesn’t--end until January 6th as commemorated in William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night as well as a date that signals the start of the Mardi Gras season that leads up to Lent on the Christian calendar.  

Unfortunately, however, for many non-observant Roman Catholics and most Protestants in the United States, the only ghosts of Epiphany left are the Christmas carol “We Three Kings” and the remains of the fruit cake that hostesses once traditionally served on January 6th.  Although  Los Tres Reyes bring presents to children in Mexico and Central and South America on a day that a large part of Europe as well as Latin America sees as the climax of the Christmas season, many Americans for the most part disregard the date.


Deconstructing the Magi's Journey:  
Structure, Sign, & Play


Since an epiphany is a revelation, homilies and sermons that focus on the meaning of Epiphany explain how the Gentiles, as symbolized by the Wise Men, recognized Jesus’ true identity as the Messiah.   But some how during the Middle Ages, the Feast of Epiphany on January 6th turned into a carnival-like atmosphere where revelers masked their identities, perhaps echoing the theme that the true meaning of the story lay behind the surface of the tale. 

While not one of these explanations of the Star of Bethlehem given below fully explains the reason behind the Magi's visit to the Christ Child, taken together they provide some insight into Matthew’s story of the Wise Men (Chapter 2: 1-12) that appears in a gospel that paradoxically sought to present the good news to the Jewish people: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+2%3A1-12&version=NIV

In much of Europe on January 6th, a priest also traditionally blesses a piece of chalk with which parishioners write the initials of the traditional names of the three Wise Men--Casper, Melchior, and Balthazar--bracketed by the century and the year above their front doors on Epiphanyfor example, "20 + C + M + B +14".  This acronym stands for the Latin, Christus mansionem benedicat,  a blessing that translates as "May Christ bless the house" and also advertises a commitment to serve the Lord in the New Year.

References:

Bratcher, Dennis.  (2013). The season of Epiphany.  The Voice.  Christian Resource Institute. Retrieved from http://www.cresourcei.org/cyepiph.html

Drum, W. (1910). Magi. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved from New Advent:  http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09527a.htm

Epiphany Blessing: Christus mansionem benedicat.  (2013, January 5).  Vultus Christi.  Retrieved from http://vultus.stblogs.org/index.php/2013/01/epiphany-blessing-of-chalk-and/

Richert, Scott P. (2013).  The Epiphany of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Catholicism.  About.com.  Retrieved from http://catholicism.about.com/od/holydaysandholidays/p/Epiphany.htm

What is Epiphany.  (2013). Sharefaith.  Retrieved from http://www.sharefaith.com/guide/Christian-Holidays/definition-of-epiphany.html

Zavada, Jack. (2013). Three kings—wise men from the East.  Christianity.  About.com. Retrieved from http://christianity.about.com/od/newtestamentpeople/a/Three-Kings.htm

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So Who Were the Wise Men, & Why Did They Bring Precious Gifts?



Image result for the Magi
Three gifts equals three Magi in most believers' imagination.
First of all, it’s important to understand the identity of the Magi or Wise Men:

Jamison, Dennis. (2013, December 24).  The gift of the Magi: The Wise Men and their journey of great risk.  Communities.  Washington Times.  Retrieved from http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/history-purpose/2013/dec/24/wise-men-and-their-journey-great-risk/

Jamison gives readers the background story on the history of the Magi that goes beyond the statement that they had seen his star in the East (2013, December 24, para. 5-6). The Magi were an hereditary priestly class of nobles of the Parthian Empire in what was ancient Persia, an empire that rivaled the Roman Empire from 247 B.C. to 224 A.D. (Jamison, 2013, December 24, para. 10-11).

The Zoroastrian religion was the official religion of Persia at this time where the Magi followed the teachings of Zoroaster (Jamison, 2013, December 24, para. 12-13).  These Wise Men knew about the prophecies of a coming Messiah because adherents of this faith had once studied with the prophet Daniel, who had served as the chief administrator of the Magi under Darius the Great (Jamison, 2013, December, para. 16).  After the Magi witnessed the astronomical signs for Christ's birth as set forth by a prophet from Mesopotamia named Balaam, they set off to find the Messiah.  Balaam foretold of a star that would herald the arrival of a great Jewish leader (Jamison, 2013, December, para. 17-18).

Trimmer, Michael. (2013, December 23).  Nativity explained: the gifts from the Magi.  Christian Today.  Retrieved from http://www.christiantoday.com/article/nativity.explained.the.gifts.from.the.magi/35146.htm

The Magi offered the Christ Child gold, frankincense, and myrrh as royal tributes, most likely in princely amounts (Trimmer, 2013, December 23, para. 1).   The gold would have probably come from the Ural-Altai region of Central Asia or the Gulf of Aquaba (Trimmer, 2013, December 23, para 2) while the frankincense, which literally translates as “high quality incense” would have come from the sap of the Olibanum tree, a tree native to the Arabian peninsula and the horn of Africa.  This resin takes from eight to ten years to produce once the tree is planted; however, it must be harvested by hand.  Today, this resin is sold for £37.50 a kilo, or $ 61.38*, but two thousand years ago it could have been much more costly (Trimmer, 2013, December 23, para. 3-5).  Myrrh is also a resin from the Commiphora myrrha, which is native to the Arabian Peninsula as well as lands as far west as Ethiopia and as far south as Kenya.  At some points in history, myrrh has been worth its weight in gold (Trimmer, 2013, December 23, para. 6).

Trimmer believes that Matthew implies that these gifts signified just who Jesus was and what he would do (2013, December 23, para. 7).  Although the Wise Men only appear in the gospel of Matthew, this mention of travelers bringing gold to the Messiah found in Psalm 72 may be considered prophecy:

May the kings of Tarshish and of distant shores
    bring tribute to him.
May the kings of Sheba and Seba
    present him gifts.
May all kings bow down to him
    and all nations serve him.

(Psalm 72, 10-11, NIV)

The Magi bringing gold to the Christ Child may also reference Isaiah 60: 9.

Surely the islands look to me;
    in the lead are the ships of Tarshish,
bringing your children from afar,
    with their silver and gold,
to the honor of the Lord your God,
    the Holy One of Israel,
    for he has endowed you with splendor.

Moreover, Queen Esther also applied myrrh before she appeared before King Xerxes (Esther 2: 12)--“Before a young woman’s turn came to go in to King Xerxes, she had to complete twelve months of beauty treatments prescribed for the women, six months with oil of myrrh and six with perfumes and cosmetics”--while Frankincense appears in Exodus 30: 34-48 when the Lord G-d gives Moses instructions for building a sacrificial altar:

34 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Take fragrant spices—gum resin, onycha and galbanum—and pure frankincense, all in equal amounts, 35 and make a fragrant blend of incense, the work of a perfumer. It is to be salted and pure and sacred. 36 Grind some of it to powder and place it in front of the ark of the covenant law in the tent of meeting, where I will meet with you. It shall be most holy to you. 37 Do not make any incense with this formula for yourselves; consider it holy to the Lord. 38 Whoever makes incense like it to enjoy its fragrance must be cut off from their people.”

 (Trimmer, 2013, December 23, para. 8)

Thus, Trimmer establishes that not only were the gifts the Magi offered the Christ Child princely, but they also had symbolic significance:  Gold signified kingship while frankincense recalled the prayers of the Jewish people since it burned in the Tabernacle both day and night (2013. December 23, para. 9-11).

Malachi 1:11 (NIV), for example, equates the burning of incense with the prediction that Lord’s name will be made known not only to the Jews but to the Gentiles (Trimmer, 2013, December 23, para. 12): “My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to my name, because my name will be great among the nations," says the LORD Almighty.”

 Finally, Trimmer believes that myrrh is the most ominous signifier of these three gifts since it was often used as embalming oil.  Trimmer explains, “To give this to a children is rather like turning up at a baby shower with a ready-to-be-engraved headstone as a gift. However, there is a dual meaning here. It was also a key ingredient of the anointing oil” (Trimmer, 2013, December 23, para. 13). Trimmer additionally notes that that an early Church Father, Origen of Alexander (A.D. 186-232) in his treatise Contra Celsum, when he wrote, "gold, as to a king; myrrh, as to one who was mortal; and incense, as to a God" (Trimmer, 2013, December 23, para. 14).


____________

The Science behind the Star





Only after learning why the Magi came can critics possibly explore the astronomical event that signaled the birth of Jesus Christ:






Everitt, Henry. (n. d.).  The Star of Bethlehem: A chronology of the life of Jesus. Physics Department.  Duke University.  Retrieved from http://www.phy.duke.edu/~everitt/StarofBethlehem.pdf

Taking Colin J. Humphrey’s “The Star of Bethlehem—a Comet in 5 NV—and the date of the birth of Christ”, which appeared in the Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society, 32, p. 389, as a primary source, Everitt sets out to discover the birth year of Christ (n.d., p. 1).  For starters, Dionysius Exiguus, who came up with the B.C. /A.D. dating scheme in A.D. 525, was slightly off on the date Jesus was born since evidence indicates that King Herod died in March 4 B.C. as noted in Matthew 2:19-21 (Everitt, n.d., p. 2).  Moreover, Pope Julius I arbitrarily set the date of Christ’s birth in A.D. 349, dating his circumcision on January 1st and then counting back to eight days earlier to December 25th to coincide with the Roman festival of Sol Invictus.  Here, Luke 2:8 also provides a clue since the shepherds only watch their flocks by night during the foaling season in the spring (Everitt, n.d., p. 3).

As for the Magi, or Wise Men, if they had come from Babylon, they would have been aware of Jewish Messianic prophecies, and may very aware have had Jewish advisers.  However, since a 500 mile trip from Babylon, would have taken anywhere between 25 to 50 days, the celestial event that captured their attention would have needed to last awhile, rise in the East and move from east to south and then have “stood” over Bethlehem.  Also, it would have needed to be insignificant enough for Herod not to have noticed it (Everitt, n.d., pp. 6-8).   Accordingly, Everitt argues that it wasn’t a star, a planetary conjunction, a nova, or super nova since all of these don’t stand over a location whereas a comet takes from one to two months to make its observable journey, would first appear in the east in the morning sky, and its tail would appear to point out a particular location (Everitt, n.d., p. 9).

Using the dates of John the Baptist’s ministry and the year of Herod’s death in 4 B.C., Everitt estimates that Christ was born between 7 B.C. and 4 B.C. whereupon Everitt hypothesizes that a comet that Chinese astronomers recorded in 5 B.C. that appeared from March 9th to April 6th in the constellation of Capricorn and lasted for seventy days is the Star of Bethlehem (Everitt, n.d. pp. 10-17).

Gardner, Martin.  (1999, December).  The star of Bethlehem:  Notes of a fringe watcher.  Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), 23(6).  Retrieved from http://www.csicop.org/si/show/star_of_bethlehem

Johannes Kepler’s original conjecture that the Star of Bethlehem was a conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn  that occurred in 7 B.C. became popular among Higher Criticism scholars during the 19th century arose as Christian scholars sought natural causes for supernatural events (Gardner, 1999, December, para. 1-2); however, Gardner argues that this goes against the prevailing practice of believing that a star heralded the births of both famous mortals and the gods, including Caesar, Pythagoras, Aeneas, and Krishna, so Matthew does his best to provide a proof text linking the birth of Christ with a supernatural prophecy found in Numbers 24:17 (Gardner, 1999, December, para. 27).

I see him, but not now;
    I behold him, but not near.
A star will come out of Jacob;
    a scepter will rise out of Israel.
He will crush the foreheads of Moab,
    the skulls of all the people of Sheth.

(Numbers 24:17 NIV)

New Testament scholars now believe that Jesus was born between 4 and 8 B.C., and since Herod died in early 4 B.C., Jesus must have been born before this time (Gardner, 1999, December, para. 4).   But what is in question is the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, since according to Roy K Marshall in “The Star of Bethlehem (Morehead Planetarium, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1949, Jupiter and Saturn never came closer than two diameters of the moon (Gardner, 1999, December para. 5), even though British astronomer Charles Pritchard in 1846 established that they were in conjunction three times during 7 B.C. for just a few days for each encounter (Gardner, 1999, December, para. 5-8).  More recently, in 1973 and 1986 respectively, however, astronomers James D. Young and James Hilton as well as Roger Sinnott have pointed out the merging of Jupiter and Venus on June 17, 2 B.C. while David H. Clark in 1988 conjectured that the Star of Bethlehem was a supernova in the constellation of Capricorn that occurred in the spring of 5 B.C. (Gardner, 1999, para. 21-22).  Even so, Gardner counsels, “Let the Bible be the Bible.  It’s not about science. It’s not accurate history” (1999, para. 29).

Gill, Victoria. (2012, December 23).  Star of Bethlehem: The astronomical explanation.  BBC News.  Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20730828

In contrast to Everitt’s assumption that the Star of Bethlehem wasn’t particularly spectacular, Gill suggests that it must have been ”rare and visually spectacular” to capture the attention of Babylon astronomers (Gill, 2012, December 23, para. 5-6).  Gill believes that the best celestial candidate for the Bethlehem Star was a conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn that would have appeared in the constellation of Pisces that occurs once every 900 years (2012, December 23, para. 15-16).  Her next best guess favors a comet that Chinese astronomers recorded in 5 B.C. that appeared in the constellation of Capricorn (Gill, 2012, December 23, para. 17-22).  Gill, nevertheless, argues that a comet probably wasn’t the Star of Bethlehem because folklore has traditionally associated comets with doom, death, disease and disaster (2012, December 23, para. 26).  Gill then goes on to note other astronomical anomalies that appeared about the time of Christ’s birth, including Halley’s comet in 12 B.C., which obviously arrived too early to be the Star of Bethlehem, a new star in the small northern constellation of Aquila in 4 B.C., and the planet Uranus, which otherwise wasn't discovered until 1781 (para. 23, 28, and 36).

Mickle, Ronald E. (2003).  Star of Bethlehem.  Denver Astrosociety.org.  Retrieved from http://www.denverastrosociety.org/dfiles/mickle/StarofBethlehem.pdf

Mickle uses the Christmas story in an attempt to come up with a birth date for Jesus Christ after first establishing that while any evidence scholars come up with is factual, the interpretation of it is subjective (2003, p. 1).  Even so, Mickle comes up with several parameters that help estimate the year of Christ’s birth: 1)  The final years of Herod’s reign and death, 2)  the Roman census, and 3) celestial events.  Flavius Josephus in A.D. 100  recorded that Herod died after a lunar eclipse and was buried before Passover Four eclipses occurred during the later years of Herod’s reign—March 23, 5 B.C., September 15,  5 B.C., March 13, 4 B.C., and January 10, 1 B.C. Mickle first rules out the March 23rd date since there was not enough time between this eclipse and Herod’s burial to conform to Jewish customs and September 15 B.C. since Herod was still living at his palace at Jericho at this date (2003, p. 1-2). 

The Romans conducted a census once every five years, so Roman citizens and those Jews who descended from Jewish royalty could reaffirm their allegiance to Rome. There was definitely such a census in 8/7 B.C., so most likely there was also one in 3/2 B.C.  Going by biblical sources, Mickle believes that Jesus was born six months after his cousin, John the Baptist.  So if John was born in March 3 B.C., this would place Jesus’ birth in September 3 B.C. (2003, p. 2).

O’Neill, Jan. (2011, December 20).  The star of Bethlehem.  Was it Jupiter?  Discovery News.  Retrieved from http://news.discovery.com/space/astronomy/the-star-of-bethlehem-was-it-jupiter.htm

BBC astronomer Mark Thompson upon scanning historical records and using computer simulations believes that the Star of Bethlehem can be explained by the motion of Jupiter (O’Neill, 2011, December 20, para. 5).  Between September 3 B.C. and 2 B.C., Jupiter passed close to Regulus, the brightest star in the constellation of Leo three times—September 14, 3 B.C., February  17, 2 B.C., and May 8, 2 B.C. (O’Neill, 2011, December 20, para. 6).  Moreover, the planet passed Regulus in an easterly motion before appearing in retrograde in a westerly direction (O’Neill, 2011, December 20, para 7).

Rao, Joe. (2011, December 23).  Was the star of Bethlehem a star, comet . . .  or miracle?  Space.com. Retrieved from http://www.space.com/14036-christmas-star-bethlehem-comet-planet-theories.html

Rao narrows down the possibilities of just what the Star of Bethlehem could have been, must weeding out the improbable candidates:

  • An unusually bright meteor wouldn’t last long enough to lead the Magi;
  • Halley’s Comet in 11 B.C. appeared at too late a date; furthermore, myth and folklore have traditionally viewed comets as “omens of evil”;
  • A supernova outburst, or the explosion are unpredictable, although the Chinese did record that an inconspicuous supernovae explosion did occur in the constellations of Capricorn and Aquarius during the spring of 5 B.C.;
  • Planetary groupings, or conjunctions, visible to the naked eye occurred in 6 and 7 B.C. as well as in 3 B.C.;
  • Finally, the Star of Bethlehem could have been a supernatural sign.

(Rao, para. 2011, December 23, para. 17-47)

Regas, Dean.  (2013, December 20).  Star of Bethlehem:  Heavenly and scientific mystery.  Huffington Post.  Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dean-regas/star-of-bethlehem_b_4466740.html

After agreeing that a planetary conjunction between Jupiter and Venus is the most popular scientific explanation for the Star of Bethlehem, Regas uses biblical text to argue that this is impossible since “no astronomical event will stop its motion across the sky” (2013, December 20, para. 10).  To comply with Matthew’s story of the Magi, Regas argues that the Star of Bethlehem would need to be very distinct, an object that doesn’t move in a normal fashion, and an object visible to the Magi during their travels and on the day they found Jesus, but not visible to Herod.  Additionally, it must not be visible to any other source, and last seen in the Bethlehem area (2013, December 20, para. 12).  Thus, Regas concludes that the Christmas Star was a U.F.O. (2013, December 20, para. 13).

Vanderbei, Robert J.  (2011, December 26).  Searching for the Star of Bethlehem (updated).  National Geographic. Retrieved from http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2011/12/26/searching-for-the-star-of-bethlehem/

Astronomer Robert J. Vanderbei refutes the population explanation for the Star of Bethlehem that appears on http://www.bethlehemstar.net/ as the conjunction of Jupiter and Venus that took place on June 17, 2 B.C. because the juxtaposition of both these planets would only be 16 percent brighter than Venus itself.  Furthermore, this event wasn’t particularly rare since the two planets have appeared as a single celestial object to the naked eye 38 times between 100 B.C. and December 2011 (Vanderbei, 2011, December 26, para. 5-6).  Roger Sinnott first proposed the conjunction of Jupiter and Venus as a possible candidate for the Star of Bethlehem in “First Venus/Jupiter Conjunction”, Sky and Telescope, December 1968, pp. 384-386, based on the calculations of a 17th-century mathematician and astronomer, Johannes Kepler (Vanderbei, 2011, December 25,  Addendum, para. 11). Vanderbei also thinks that the Magi would have known the difference between the conjunction of two planets and a star; however, Everitt notes that at this point in time, astronomers referred to any celestial event as a “star” (n.d., p. 3).

Viviano, Jo Anne. (2013, December 20).  Star of Bethlehem a literary creation says Ohio State physics scholar.  Columbus Dispatch.  Retrieved from http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/faith_and_values/2013/12/20/telling-of-star-story-still-causes-many-to-wonder.html

Aaron Adair in The Star of Bethlehem: A Skeptical View (2013) argues that the Star of Bethlehem was a literary creation of Matthew rather than an actual celestial event since “the conjunction of Jupiter and Venus in 2 B.C. would have to change history to fit the story” (Viviano, 2013, December 20, para. 2-3).  Adair then points out that literature at that time used legend and myth to explain theological truths (Viviano, 2013, December 20, para. 6). Brett Ellman, the planetarium director at the Kent State University, seems to underline this point since he notes that since no other gospels mention the tale of the Wise Men that this leaves researchers “ill-equipped” to verify this event (Viviano, 2013, December 20, para. 12).

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Music Celebrating Epiphany

Bach, J. S. (2012, April 25).  Cantate BWV 123—Liebster Immanuel, Herzog der Frommen. You Tube. (21:23 minutes.  Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fx1u2cCnpWU

---.  (2007, August 12).  Herr, wenn die stolzen Feinde Schnauben 16.  You Tube. (7: 23 minutes).  Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQNodYPmNhk

---. (2012, May 21).  Sie warden aus Saba alle kommen, BWV65 (McCreesh). You Tube. (14:35 minutes).  Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsuqNqpAD98

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Books on the Magi & 
the Star of Bethlehem

Landau, Brent. (2010).  Revelation of the Magi: The Lost Tale of the Wise Men’s Journey to Bethlehem.  New York: Harper One.

Landau translates a lost Syrian Christian manuscript found in the Vatican that gives the story of their journey in first person from their point of view.  The tale resembles a Jewish Midrash, or exposition of Biblical texts and reveals that both the star and the Messiah both existed from the beginning of time.

Van Dyke, Henry. (1895). The Other Wise Man and the Mansion. Reprint 1920.  New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers. Google Books. Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books?id=BaIXAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=The+Other+Wise+Man&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Z9C8UtHvL9K_kQf_74HwBA&ved=0CGAQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=The%20Other%20Wise%20Man&f=false

This fictional tale explores the story of the Wise Man who stays behind to help a dying man and thus does not see the Christ Child, so he spends the rest of his life looking for the Messiah.

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Cakes Fit for Kings: 
Feast of Epiphany Recipes

Christmas cake.  Food Recipes.  BBC.  Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/christmascake_2359

Brandy, dried fruits, black treacle, marmalade, and almonds are some of the ingredients in this traditional English fruitcake.

English Epiphany jam tart. (2001). The Recipe Link.  Retrieved from http://www.recipelink.com/msgbrd/board_3/2001/DEC/5780.html

This Victorian pastry combines different jams into a tart.

Franklin, Rebecca. (2013).   Galette des Rois Recipe.  French Food.  About.com.  Retrieved from http://frenchfood.about.com/od/desserts/r/Galette-des-Rois-Recipe.htm

The French celebrate Epiphany with this almond, cream-filled, puff pastry.

McKenna, Fracine.  (2013). “Three Kings Day” cake recipe.  Bella Online. Retrieved from http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art12820.asp

German cooks shape the sweet yeast bread in this Dreikoenigkuchen into a crown, folding citrus fruit, raisins, and rum into the batter.

Traditional king cake recipe.  (2009, February).  Southern Living. Retrieved from http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/traditional-king-cake-10000001152929/

Indulge in this sinfully rich King Cake recipe on the Feast of Epiphany.  Is it any wonder, that that Louisianans enjoy this cake during Mardi Gras.

Thursday, December 12, 2013

An Open Letter to President Obama & the Democrat & Republic Parties on Improving U.S. Health Care




Re: An Improved Health Care System: Goal No. 1--Keep Americans Well & Out of the Hospital




Evelyn Smith, MS in Library Science, University of North Texas, 2012

Yesterday, I received a notice from Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Texas that my health insurance rates are increasing by 20 percent.  Since I only had a mammogram this year (that BCBS of Texas didn't remimburse me for), I can only make an educated guess that I am now paying for other Americans whom the Patient Protection and Affordable Healthcare Act is supposed to serve. While I don’t begrudge helping out those who truly need it, this increase will be difficult for me. Even so, the Blue Cross/Blue Shield rates coupled with my deductible of $2,500 are still a better bargain for me than what the Healthcare.gov monthly payments would be. This increase along with the final assignment of the American Library Association's Reference and User Services Association Continuing Education class I'm just now completing, however, have prompted this take on how to improve American health and health services.  Please work together across the aisle to solve this crisis:
  1. The main goal of this improved health-care system is to keep would-be patients out of the hospital.  Hence, it will specialize in preventive care by giving incentives—in the form of lower premiums—for improved life-style habits:  For example, the Internal Revenue Service could award health care subscribers a “cash-back” incentive if they live a healthy lifestyle, maintaining a healthy weight for their age and gender, according to actuary tables, exercising for at least 30 minutes a day five days a week (something I need to work on), as documented by checking in at fitness clubs, and not smoking.  Medicaid recipients might also receive a small reward if they achieved these goals as well. This is similar to an idea found in the Reader’s Digest article “18 Big Ideas for Health Care Now” as are many of the other ideas in this letter (2008, November, para. 16).
  2. Apply the principle of triage to the health-care system, concentrating on fighting “the big five” chronic conditions—chronic artery disease, digestive heart failure, asthma, and depression (18 big ideas, 2008, para. 2).  This also means accepting the fact that obesity is now a chronic disease. 
  3. Expand literacy programs in the states with the lowest functional literacy rates to ensure a well-educated citizenry.  In most instances, this would mean increasing adult ESL educational opportunities.
  4. Let consumers shop across state lines for the best insurance plans (18 big ideas, 2008, para. 67-68). 
  5. Recognize that the “one-size fits all” model for health care might not work.  Different regions of the United States and different populations have different health care needs depending on their education, income, life style, and (dare I say it) ethnic origin.  For example, New England is the healthiest region of the United States, and it is also  the most highly educated part of the country (America’s health rankings, 2012, chart; Education statistics, 2013, StateMaster.com). Conversely, most Southerners would need to re-evaluate their love of fatty and fried foods.
  6. Stop unnecessary treatments by instituting tort reform (18 big ideas, 2008, para. 31-32).
  7. Since more medical expenses usually occur in the last two years of life than any other time, educate families of patients eligible for hospice care that this is often the more humane alternative than opting for heroic care; for example, families of Alzheimer’s patients need to be informed about the advantages of hospice care (Alzheimer’s disease, 2003, para. 5 & 6).
  8. Send prescriptions to pharmacies electronically, avoiding medical errors (18 big ideas, 2008, para. 18).
  9. Reward patients for using retail clinics for routine health care and minor medical emergencies instead of the hospital emergency room (18 big ideas, 2008, para, 21).
  10. Reduce infant mortality through better prenatal care and education of potential mothers-to-be before they become pregnant.  Public high schools, focusing on teenage mothers, and community centers and public libraries would be awarded grants to implement these programs (18 big ideas, 2008, para. 36).
  11. Reward and promote healthy eating and exercise through school lunch programs featuring healthy foods and after-school physical fitness activities (18 big ideas, 2008, para. 39-41).  For instance, public schools can already receive grants from the federal government if they make salad bars a part of their food service.  As a substitute teacher, I also know that this will only truly succeed if children and teens will actually eat their vegetables.  I’ve seen more than a few middle school students turn their noses up at the thought of eating the few healthy entrees on their cafeteria’s menu, instead opting for pizza, hamburger, and fries.
  12. Provide incentives for pharmaceutical companies to create and provide affordable drugs (18 big ideas, 2008, para. 55-56).
  13. Publicize virtual medical Websites (18 Big ideas, 2008, para. 59-60).  Accordingly, public library Websites as well as outreach programs need to publicize appropriate lifestyle and wellness choices as well as to acquaint uninsured patrons with their insurance options under the Patient Protection and Affordable Healthcare Act (“Obama Care”).  To ensure that public library Websites provide both safe and relevant medical information, M. H. Oermann argues that they should ask medical professionals to evaluate any medical information that they post (2005, Abstract). 
  14. Publicize the Food and Drug’s Administration  recent decision that the FDA no longer considers trans fats safe since it increases cholesterol (Haynes, 2013, November 8, para. 1-2). 
P. S. You might want to take a look at the virtual reference library that I have created for a small town in Texas that doesn’t have an accredited librarian or any subscription-based Online services: 

http://evelynelainesmith.blogspot.com/

References


Alzheimer’s disease and end-of-life issues. (2003, Aug. 1).  Alzheimer’s Disease Education and Referral Center. http://www.nia.nih.gov/alzheimers/features/alzheimers-disease-and-end-life-issues

America’s health rankings. (2012).  United Health Foundation.  Retrieved from http://www.americashealthrankings.org/Rankings

Education statistics > best educated index (most recent) by state. (2013).  StateMaster.com.  [Statistics are from 2005].  Retrieved from http://www.statemaster.com/graph/edu_bes_edu_ind-education-best-educated-index

18 big ideas to fix health care now. (2008, November).  Reader’s Digest.  Retrieved from http://www.rd.com/health/healthcare/18-ideas-to-reform-health-care-now/

Hayes, Ashley. (2013, November 13).  Put down that doughnut: FDA takes on trans fats. CNN.  Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/07/health/fda-trans-fats/

Oermann, M. H., et al.  (2005, September 14).  Using Websites on quality health care for teaching consumers in public libraries.  Quality Management in health care. 114(3), 488-95.  [Abstract only].  Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16027597