The physician has long held a place of high regard in the American imagination. In our most idealized picture, the doctor is a well-trained, beneficent miracle worker. We listen attentively to the pronouncements of doctors, both the diagnoses and the casual advice. We generally pay them very well for their know-how, and a medical degree, if one can achieve it, remains a dependable path up the income ladder. Doctors enjoy great prestige because of their technical knowledge, analytical intellect, and altruistic spirit.

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This photograph shows a Dassault Rafale aircraft parked on the tarmac of the French Air and Space Force Luxeuil-Saint-Sauveur Airbase in Saint-Sauveur, France, on March 18, 2025. (Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty Images)