Real thoughts about doctors

By Laura Villarreal

I found this week that some people are not as appreciative of doctors as I had previously thought. I was not aware of the negative connotations that comes with being a doctor. In my search for “doctor” related articles in MSU’s library’s database, I found a poem that was quietly criticizing doctors. The author was slyly sharing her negative opinion while not being outwardly offensive.

Author Anne Sexton’s poem “Doctors” shows how she finds doctors to be too highly revered and arrogant. For example,

“they are not Gods

though they would like to be;

they are only human  

trying to fix up a human.”

and

“The doctors should fear arrogance
more than cardiac arrest.
If they are too proud,
and some are,
then they leave home on horseback
but God returns them on foot.”

These excerpts from her poem show her feelings well. On the outside, the poem itself is not necessarily offensive, but a deeper look shows some really negative thoughts about doctors.

I am not a doctor yet but this poem still somewhat offended me. I think that doctors should be highly revered because of how much good they contribute to society. They save lives every day. I think that is something to be arrogant about. I would be too.