(NaturalNews) It's a sad tale that reflects much of what has gone wrong in America.

I'm talking about the story of Brailynn Randolph, a one-year-old girl who is receiving chemotherapy for the treatment of retinoblastoma, a form of eye cancer, and her father, Brian Randolph, who has been charged with a bank robbery that he claims he committed to pay his daughter's medical bills so that the treatments could continue.

Brailynn was not covered by health insurance at the time of the robbery.

The child's mother, Asia Dupree, said the insurance policy that covered Brailynn's once-every-four-weeks chemo sessions was suddenly cancelled because her policy was not renewed when Brailynn turned one.

Confusing health insurance requirements

Although every American citizen is theoretically eligible for affordable health care, it is common for people to lose coverage because of the confusing bureaucratic maze associated with receiving such care. Asia Dupree is merely one of thousands of Americans who have lost their coverage because they weren't aware of or didn't understand the requirements to keep their policies up to date.

It's easy to understand how a young mother trying to take care of a sick child might easily get lost in the intricacies of health care insurance coverage requirements.

It is also perhaps somewhat understandable that a desperate father might feel compelled to do something as foolish as robbing a bank to see that his daughter gets the care she needs. It's not a valid excuse, of course, but a feeling of utter helplessness can drive people to do stupid things, especially when the life of a loved one appears to hang in the balance.

Brian Randolph is being held on $500,000 bail, which means he cannot be of any help at all to Brailynn or the family at the moment.

A flawed hero

It would be easier to view Brian Randolph as some sort of tragic yet foolish hero if he hadn't used part of the $9,000 he made off with to buy an expensive pair of shoes and a Gucci bag before he was arrested.

To be fair, most of the money was recovered and Randolph did use some of the cash to catch up on the back rent for the family's home. It does appear that his main intention was to help his daughter, but it seems that a desire to also be a high-rolling consumer - however briefly - was a temptation he couldn't resist when he suddenly found himself with a sizable bankroll in his pocket.

That's just one of the reasons this tale is a reflection of what is going wrong in this country.

A climate of unfairness

For many Americans these days, there is a feeling that life is unfair and a perception that even if you try to make an honest living, there will still not be enough money to pay the bills. Unfortunately, that perception is fairly accurate. A minimum wage job in many cities is not enough to cover the cost of rent and food, which means there is no way to pay for emergencies.

Obamacare has not lived up to its promises; jobs are scarce and low-paying. Meanwhile, the rich get richer and there is a pervasive sense that in order to get ahead, you must be willing to lie, cheat and steal just like the rich bankers and politicians do.

The gangster culture is celebrated at the lower end of the economic scale, and it's not too surprising. If the rich are perceived as not having to play by the rules - a fairly accurate assessment - then why should the poor have to play fair?

When health care costs are ridiculously exorbitant while the health care insurance system designed to cover those costs has become hopelessly complicated, it's also not too surprising that people become desperate enough to rob a bank to keep a child alive.

There's no real excuse for what Brian Randolph did, but there are reasons...

Sources:
SputnikNews.com
HuffingtonPost.com