Silas Lapham is a fine type of the successful American. He has a square, bold chin, only partially concealed by the short reddish-grey beard, growing to the edges of his firmly closing lips. His nose is short and straight; his forehead good, but broad rather than high; his eyes blue, and with a light in them that is kindly or sharp according to his mood.-- William Dean Howells
I happen to be facing an extenuating moral crisis brought on by a nun who already has two thirds of my corpse in a coffin. Do I have a social worker? Do I have medical visits? Am I still able to wash? Have I made a list of long term care facilities? It is my extenuating moral crisis, but it points to an unpleasant truth that mainstream media outlets only grapple with as a family quarrel. Americans, and westerners more broadly, are as constricted as the average Chinese or Russian citizen. We just aren't imprisoned for complaining about it. Beneath the surface of our heralded free market, we are as corroded as the Cold War Soviets, just as the Russians and Chinese today are corrupt marketeers beneath their state models.
I cannot sit here and passively give way to end of life micro-management that could last over 20 years; I cannot.
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