I Need Fairness, But Allow Me To Dysfunction
The irony was palpable enough to hold. She sat indignantly on the edge of the Ward’s table, her voice trailing off as she lamented about patients who flashed their insurance cards like golden tickets with a sense of entitlement. “They come in acting like royalty,” she scoffed. “They don’t get it—we survive off the cracks in the system. If insurance covered everything, some of us wouldn’t earn a pesewa extra. That’s our hustle. Ahba, don’t we all eat from our workplaces? ”
Fast forwards a few years down the line…, the tables have turned. The same woman who once walked through wards in scrubs, attending to patients , was now the one admitted, weak and vulnerable. Her body was failing her, and the system she had once defended was failing her too. Every step of her recovery came with a price tag—tests, medication, even the most basic care. Her insurance card felt like a joke, a shiny prop with no real power. By the time she was discharged, her body was healed, but her faith in the system was shattered. “Pope,” she whispered, eyes hollow, “even me, a healthcare provider, could be treated like this? Isn’t the insurance supposed to shield us? Why should we be bled dry? Where is the justice in the system?”
I didn’t say a word. Just sat there, watching her wrestle with the contradiction. She wanted reform—but not the kind that would close the loopholes she had once depended on.
It reminded me of my friend whose salary was tied to the dollar. When the cedi strengthened, he sulked because his paycheck shrank. But when the dollar soared, he cheered… for a moment. Then came the complaints: fuel prices, rent, groceries all high too. He wanted stability, but only the kind that bent in his favour.
Reflectintrospection
We all do it, don’t we? Consciously or subconsciously. We dream of perfect systems, relationships, homes, etc that work—transparent, fair, truthful, honest, authentic, efficient. But when those systems start to function as they should and demand responsibility and accountability, they often disrupt the quiet benefits we have carved out in the shadows.
It is a tug-of-war between principle and pocket, between what is right and what is convenient.
And, maybe, that is the real challenge of reform/resetting—not just fixing the system, but helping people reconcile with the parts of themselves that have learned to thrive in its dysfunction.
Systems, relationships, homes, etc, fail not only from external pressure but internal contradiction. Are our actions aligned with the change we demand? Are we caught up in the paradox of progress where we crave order, yet often act in ways that preserve chaos? Are we at war with our own unethical ideals?
To heal a broken world, we must first confront the ways we benefit from its fractures.
Serenity Prayer
Dear Lord,
Grant us serenity to be truthful to ourselves and honest to others by leading the change we desire to see around us. And make the world better for all. Amen
