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The people speak: We need a Surgeon General. Seriously

With the Ebola crisis and many other issues in the news, a Surgeon General is important for keeping some sanity around here. But getting Dr. Vivek Murthy actually in position following his nomination has been put on hold because Congress just won’t have it. The office of Surgeon General has been a proud and independent one. Surgeons General […]

By Nicole Oran on December 02, 2014

With the Ebola crisis and many other issues in the news, a Surgeon General is important for keeping some sanity around here. But getting Dr. Vivek Murthy actually in position following his nomination has been put on hold because Congress just won’t have it.

The office of Surgeon General has been a proud and independent one. Surgeons General have a strong legacy of keeping to the facts, speaking clearly and honestly, and holding the country’s health above politics. These are the physician — leaders who convinced the country that tobacco was dangerous, procured funding for cancer research in fiscally-strained times, and educated the nation about scary infections. They represent the very best of what doctors can be, of what we look for in our own doctors.

The nomination of Murthy has been put to the side for the past year, and that seems to be because of special interest groups like the NRA (Murthy’s position on gun safety isn’t well-received by all) and a focus on partisanship and reelections. Millennials, however, seem to be on the doctor’s side. But they aren’t the only ones.

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Here’s what people (some pretty public and influencial people) are saying about it: