I got super pissed off yesterday when I was listening to NPR and they started talking about public policy and obesity. According to NPR and the federal government I'm borderline obese because if I add 2 pounds to my body, whether it be derived from fat or muscle is irrelevant, I become obese. They also said it wasn't my fault but probably the environment I live in so somebody, and since they said public policy and Federal government I suspect it means that they need to change the world around me instead of me changing my behavior. What it boils down to is the government wants to be god. Well, Uncle Sam, I'm a motherfucking atheist and I don't have, don't need and don't want a master in the fucking sky.
It's not that I don't believe in a space Santa raining us with blessings. It's that I don't believe anything in the universe or the universe itself gives a shit about any of us. This isn't a benevolent cosmos. It's an indifferent cosmos. If it has anything to offer it is nothing but emptiness and, as we humans seem to understand, pure fucking misery. And the only reason we have anything that appears to be good in this world is because humans are fucking good, fucking animals and when we aren't busy doing things for ourselves we're usually doing it for somebody else. So catch this fly ball: we humans don't deserve shit. Not from our family, not from our friends, not from our peers, not from any fucking body or any fucking institution. I hate it when people demand that the government try to fix everything like A) they've been blessed with some knowledge on what life for individuals or society is supposed to be like and B) they have the fucking right to do it. The improvement of this world, the so-called bettering of our society is achieved by letting humans just be what they are: good. And if they aren't good, if they tear apart everything, they destroy everything, they exploit everything, they devour and destroy the entire planet and every living thing on it they still aren't being bad. They are just following in what appears to be a teensy weensy itsy bitsy part of this impending thing that looms billions of years in our future called the Big Rip.
So in conclusion, if you don't think people are good then you can go fuck yourself. Stop being such a fucking asshole and realize that these people sitting around are just as self-centered as you are and have their own shit to deal with.
Well the government does have a vested interest in having healthier citizens. I.e. healthcare costs. I think their involvement should be limited to 'this is what a human should eat, with supporting studies' and not subsidizing industries that produce junk food. Hmm maybe restricting advertisement for junk food like cigarette companies where. But that would be tricky because there is stuff that is obviously not life sustaining, like candy bars, that people don't try to live off of.
ReplyDeleteLike many things, an educated population is the answer. But people are lazy and trying to cram information down their throats' usually does more harm than good.
Also BMI is shit. No one should use it for weight evaluation. And yes, our species is truly insignificant in the eyes of the universe. Which is kinda empowering.
Lots of people have a vested interest in a healthier world, myself included. The problem stems from your statement above. I discussed this issue with my friend Mark recently and his response was because "health care is a shared cost" and under our current structure it is. I just don't think it should be because I find wealth redistribution to be in direct opposition to principles of liberty, both economic and personal. I do not think that anyone should be forced to put her resources (money, time, or whatever) into something they either don't believe or don't benefit from and that is exactly what government control aspires to. For instance, I don't support the wars in Afghanistan or Iraq but because the argumentation of 'public good' and 'national security' the government acted without the consent of the people. This isn't a rare example, it's their modus operandi. By demonizing fat people and companies that make money off of them they then appeal to us by saying "poor YOU, now YOU have to pay for THEIR fat asses' health bills. But, if you like, we can simply stop them from doing this." And the next thing you know, somebody else the government literally chooses the lifestyle that people ought to live.
ReplyDeleteHere is an exaggerated example that falls in line with this theory: America needs hard workers. Hard workers must be born. People who are born come from procreative heterosexual acts. We, as the government, have decided that there is only benefit to heterosexual sex and have made all other kinds illegal. Okay, how about you just can't marry? Deal!
I think that a person should be able to do stupid things like drink alcohol or go to church. In fact, if a person isn't killing, raping, or stealing from someone else I think that person can do anything she damn well pleases. It's up to her to decide the actions she finds most conducive to her pursuit of happiness. If getting fat on McDonalds is her choice I will not inhibit it. It may be worth speaking out against just as I speak out against the ignorance that spews forth from Christianity. But I can't stop others from doing, nor would I want to. I don't force others to participate in my games and I should not be forced to do so by others.
I personally have contributed money to different health based causes for children. I don't have to. I have no moral imperative to do so, it's not getting me laid. I just feel for kids with cancer and shit like that. But the point is that my actions taken are purely voluntary.
One person's orderly, functioning society is another person's dystopia, I suppose. It's funny, I remember President Obama promising that he was going to lower taxes for most Americans. Next year, because of the health care law, mine will actually go up and I'll still probably be struggling with my weight.
I think you should write more fiction. That's what I think.
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