An Opinion
I'm in a hospital room in Amarillo, Texas. Julie is caring for her mother who had surgery yesterday to remove a tumorous section of colon. Her confusion is compounded by Alzheimer's, drugs and a strange environment.
In the last year I've had more experiences with the medical system than I've had in the last 25 years combined. Permit me to voice an opinion.
The American lifestyle is highly detrimental to good health. The food supply is structured toward maximizing corporate profit without regard to good nutrition. Elevators, escalators, autos, remote controls, power appliances and other "coveniences" minimize physical activity. Mobility and quest for the American dream have combined to eliminate a sense of community and social support system. Stress levels have been inflated by the government's implementation of a policy of paranoia as a means of control.
Some statistics call for attention. The populations of 37 countries (43 according to some sources) have a longer life expectancy than Americans. The median height of children has begun decreasing. The US leads the developed world in the percent of population that is obese.
It is ironic. Our children are admonished to "just say no" to non-prescription drugs but we encourage them to take massive quantities of drugs to treat hyperactivity, attention deficit syndrome and health problems directly attributable to lifestyle.
"Just say no!" Perhaps that's good advice.
My bias is to turn negatives into positives. I say yes to learning and adopting good nutrition. I say yes to walking, exercising and staying active. I say yes to friends, family and community. I say yes to entertainment that's uplifting. I say yes to turning off exploitative news media. I say yes to being content with enough and not wanting more.
The American lifestyle is unhealthy but it's not mandatory. I choose something better.
In the last year I've had more experiences with the medical system than I've had in the last 25 years combined. Permit me to voice an opinion.
The American lifestyle is highly detrimental to good health. The food supply is structured toward maximizing corporate profit without regard to good nutrition. Elevators, escalators, autos, remote controls, power appliances and other "coveniences" minimize physical activity. Mobility and quest for the American dream have combined to eliminate a sense of community and social support system. Stress levels have been inflated by the government's implementation of a policy of paranoia as a means of control.
Some statistics call for attention. The populations of 37 countries (43 according to some sources) have a longer life expectancy than Americans. The median height of children has begun decreasing. The US leads the developed world in the percent of population that is obese.
It is ironic. Our children are admonished to "just say no" to non-prescription drugs but we encourage them to take massive quantities of drugs to treat hyperactivity, attention deficit syndrome and health problems directly attributable to lifestyle.
"Just say no!" Perhaps that's good advice.
My bias is to turn negatives into positives. I say yes to learning and adopting good nutrition. I say yes to walking, exercising and staying active. I say yes to friends, family and community. I say yes to entertainment that's uplifting. I say yes to turning off exploitative news media. I say yes to being content with enough and not wanting more.
The American lifestyle is unhealthy but it's not mandatory. I choose something better.
posted by Paul at 6:08 AM
5 Comments:
Education, and the willingness to learn, is the not so simple solution that leads to the better choices.
There is a hell of a lot of pressure to conform. In most case I do not conform and lonliness can be a dangerous thing!
I wish so many Americans would get their self-centered heads out of their asses and start questioning the status quo for once in their lives. There's gotta be more to life than yakkng on a cell phone while driving an Expedition while pigging out on a bucket of fried chicken.
It's good to see someone thinking about these things. We all need to do a little more independent examination of what's going on around us. Lately, I've been paying more attention to the crap they feed us on TV and am trying to 'just say no.' (OK, I watched almost all of "The War.") I've been wondering what would happen if we paid as much attention and money to ANY real problem as we spend on the NFL. I've been wondering if it's a good thing that we crave the lowest possible prices on all this crap from China that Walmart sells. I try to question anything that the government or corporate America tells me.
Paul,
I think I'm going to have a T-shirt drawn up for next spring...green shirt, maybe cranberry lettering:
Just say NO to Scotts!
You might have to modify it for the desert.
Tim
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