Posted on 03/29/2004 9:32:16 PM PST by It's me
Quick – more federal funding! I say that because it’s more fun than “America has a problem,” but the meaning is the same. Everyone, by now, has heard of the lawsuits being filed against McDonalds on behalf of overweight people eager to find someone to blame for their problems. Americans were too dumb to realize that eating a constant stream of super-sized Big Macs and Sausage and Egg McMuffins and McApple McPies with McIce-cream Cones might cause some weight gain and so now, we have problems with McObesity.Yes, America was a fish – a nice plump fish – swimming through the comfortable waters of ease and complacency until, suddenly, we hit the cement dam of reality.
We, as Americans, have been blessed with living in the wealthiest country in the world. We never starve – even the poorest Americans have plenty to eat, which is definitely not the case in most other countries. Because we have so many resources at our fingertips and our every desire is satisfied within minutes, we’ve gotten used to a culture of instant gratification.The McDonalds McObesity problem isn’t really McDonalds’ problem, and it isn’t quite the epidemic that fast-food McFoes are making it out to be. After all, obesity is not contagious; there are certain personal choices that lead to obesity and there are ways that it can be avoided. Some people are more disposed toward that condition than others, but no one is being force-fed Big Mac upon Whopper upon Thickburger against their will in order to force fatness upon them.
The problem lies in our need for instant gratification. Fast-food chains exist because we want our food quickly and tasty and in large quantities. No one in the world believes that a huge, greasy hamburger is better for you than a fresh salad, followed by a meal of lightly seasoned chicken, rice and carrots, and topped off with a dessert of fruit washed down with several glasses of water, but hamburgers are so much easier and so much tastier. The wiser choice is the more difficult choice, and so it is not often chosen. McDonald’s or Burger King or whatever chain-culprit you choose is not responsible for the increase in overweight Americans, but laziness is. Taking time to prepare a balanced meal would help to avoid obesity, but we avoid an expenditure of our time at all costs. We do not want real solutions or time-consuming prevention; we want a hot meal now, and we’ll deal with the consequences later by removing the blame from ourselves and suing someone. That, or we’ll ask for federal funding to fix the problem.
This problem parallels quite a few others. The divorce rate is astronomically high now, especially when compared to a few decades ago; half of all marriages are expected to end in divorce. Of course, that rate was smaller before no-fault divorces became the norm – one partner can simply walk out at the slightest sign of trouble and without the smallest effort made to remedy the problem. Now, people are choosing more frequently to refuse marriage altogether, and simply cohabitate and break up in an endless cycle. In a difficult marriage, a problem exists that could be combated and cured with hard work, time, and self-sacrifice made by either party, but most simply choose the easiest way, leaving marriages destroyed and children hurt, confused, and suffering for years to come. Divorce is similar to the fast-food fallout in that everything from statistics to common sense says it’s unhealthy, but the time or effort it takes to come to a better alternative deters so many from seeking out this better portion.
Abortion, too, is a quick fix. It is an easy solution to an unexpected pregnancy, but it is definitely not the best one. Nor do we really realize what an awful answer it is; the mounds of research showing that abortion has long- term psychological and physical effects have hardly been published as much as it should. Conservatives know that abortions would be avoided if inconvenient or unplanned pregnancies were avoided, and the best way to do this is through abstinence (liberals insist that encouraging sex with condoms is the foolproof solution, or that somehow Planned Parenthood will eliminate pregnancies if they get more funding), but a commitment to abstinence is difficult at times and completely flies in the face of the messages we are constantly receiving from our culture. Then again, McVictims are claiming that they couldn’t help but eat McDonald’s food as a result of their incessant McAdvertising, claiming that the ads made the food look healthy and appealing. The poor children had no reason not to eat the food, since it looked so good on those billboards! Billboards, of course, are not good places to turn for advice, and sensible Americans must use our reason to determine what is best, rather than our appetites. Our culture and our media present things in a certain light, but we must make decisions without flashing strobes or distracting searchlights. Sex gratifies instantly, but a chaste, committed relationship will really prevent women from having to suffer abortions.
Others can recognize problems in the world but in failing to see appropriate conclusions rather clamor for easier, quicker fixes without really helping the roots of the problems. To begin to solve the problems of terrorism and violence in the Middle East, George W. Bush sent troops overseas to oust one of the world’s most dangerous dictators from his seat, where he posed a problem to his region and to the globe. This will ultimately cause a stable, lasting peace to settle on the Middle Eastern region, but first we will have to undergo suffering, casualties, and a long struggle to bring about this peace. However, impatient anti-war activists have formed countless protests and other variations of taking to the streets and shouting, all the while clamoring for “peace!” These seekers of an instantaneous answer never stop to seek out solutions to problems which may be disrupting the peace, but rather cry for a laying down of all arms or things that look like arms in an effort to secure peace and stability. This is an illogical and improbable resolution at best; if we simply throw down our guns and run away from the problems, it is doubtful that things would ever improve or that violence would ever stop. Sometimes, the solution to the problem is challenging or time- consuming, but other alternatives are very unlikely to actually solve problems. For example, eating a fast-food salad doesn’t really get to the root of the problem facing obesity, just like giving Osama bin Laden a hug won’t cure his obsession with destroying America. Securing peace can be an unpleasant thing – just like World War II or the Civil War were terrible ordeals – but without them, Nazism or slavery would not have been stopped.
Good things can be hard to come by; sometimes, it is not easy to do what is best. But there are things we know are evil or harmful, and we must avoid them at all costs and despite all difficulties. If our society will survive as an example of stability and success to the modern world, we need to recognize our problems, take responsibility for them, and do whatever we need to in order to solve them.
Similarly, humans evolved to seek foods rich in fats, calories, and salt, and sugar. It is no mistake that these things taste good to us and that we crave them: they meant survival in the neolithic.
Our bodies have not caught up with our technology or culture. Give it another 100,000 years, maybe.
--Boris
So, I guess hunting up a BurgerKing and gathering a Whopper doesn't count ...
8')
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