Everybody In, Nobody Out: Memoirs of a Rebel Without a Pause
By Quentin Young, M.D.
Copernicus Healthcare
From the Epilogue
From my adolescent years to the present, Iāve never wavered in my belief in humanityās ability – and our collective responsibility – to bring about a more just and equitable social order. Iāve always believed in humanityās potential to create a more caring society.
That viewpoint has infused my relations with family, friends, patients, and medical colleagues. It has been a lifelong, driving force to promote equality and the common good, and I believe it has served me well.
I suppose being a physician has made it easier for me to work toward this goal. Easier, that is, than if I had chosen a different occupation. Iāve spent a lifetime trying to help others – in my daily rounds, in my clinic, as a hospital administrator, at demonstrations, in my work with health advocacy groups – and it all adds up to a deeply rewarding career. Few people have had such good fortune.
But as youāve no doubt noticed in the preceding pages, my views and actions have also propelled me into sharp conflict with institutions and persons who would perpetuate injustice. That was true yesterday; it remains true today. My work is unfinished.
http://www.copernicus-healthcare.org
Comment:
By Don McCanne, M.D.
This weekend in Boston at the annual meeting of Physicians for a National Health Program, we will be celebrating the 90th birthday of Quentin Young. This is no ordinary birthday for no ordinary man. He lives up to his name by remaining young and vibrant as he continues his lifelong quest for equality and the common good, while fighting the forces of injustice. His work is unfinished.
Quentin has been a personal inspiration to me as he was the person who guided me at the pivot point in my life when I shifted from the practice of medicine to my second calling as a passionate advocate of health care justice. He will continue to be my inspiration.
]]>