P.T. Barnum was right: There's a sucker born every minute
March 10, 2010
People are hitting the streets in the U.S. in masses. Every day, we see violent demonstrations. We have seen
fights and even guns brandished by some of the protestors. Speakers at "town hall" meetings have been shouted down to the
point that the meeting must cease. The subject of these raucous events is the proposed overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system
by Barack Obama.
Let’s be clear about one thing. Obama’s plan is merely window-dressing for business as usual.
The supporters of this scheme maintain the U.S. will finally have a national health service. This is only lip-service to the
administration.
On the other hand, the opponents are using outright lies to denigrate the planned changes. They accuse the
Obama administration of bringing socialism to the U.S., despite Obama’s unashamed affinity to capitalism. Also, they
maintain that the new legislation would require the killing of older people so the government would not have to pay for their
health services.
Both sides have outright lied about most of the proposed legislation. There are various articles that have
been written that expose the dishonesty of both camps, so I’ll not elaborate on the falsehoods. Plus, both sides have
been generously financed by special interest groups.
The figures of the new plan that are being bandied about are astronomical, up to almost $2 trillion. But,
there is little talk of something that could drastically reduce healthcare prices: health.
Various estimates put the number of U.S. citizens who are obese at 50-65%. Until a few years ago, tobacco
was considered the number one killer of U.S. citizens. That has changed. For the past few years, problems caused by obesity
have created more deaths in the U.S. and a drastic increase in healthcare costs. Are we seeing and hearing about a national
program of health awareness? Of course not. A healthier U.S. would mean decreased profits for some billionaires.
There are myriad websites with very astute information on how to live a healthy lifestyle. But, they receive
little attention compared to the number of overweight Americans. Worse, however, is the fact that there is absolutely no national
program of health awareness coming from the U.S. government (Democrats and Republicans alike). Nothing.
In the U.S., people only pay attention to things they see on TV or hear on radio that are repeatedly broadcast.
Most Americans will tell you (falsely, of course) that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction and also was the force behind
9-11. This subject was run into the ground by the U.S. media. For a national awareness of one’s health, we need the
same kind of relentless publicity, coming from the government itself. Fat chance.
Ask any number of U.S. citizens what’s America’s most popular beer, or who Oprah’s next
guest will be, and about 90% will give an accurate answer. But, ask the same people how many Americans suffer from diabetes
and you’ll get either a blank stare or a guess. Maybe one in a hundred will come close.
Current numbers vary from 23.6 million to 24 million U.S. citizens with diabetes, depending on which study
you read. From 2007 to 2009, the number has increased by 15%. Most studies predict that in 10 years, about 50 million Americans
will have diabetes. If this is not an epidemic, I don’t know what is.
Just 90 miles south of the U.S., there is a country that is combating diabetes: Cuba. About 10 years ago,
the government began an education program. From the first grade up, Cuban kids learn of diabetes in school and how to prevent
the disease.
The Cubans went even further than education: the government began an organic farming program. Farmers were
paid to raise and sell crops to the government, which, in turn, sold them cheaply to the public. If a farmer had a surplus
after selling his goods to the government, he was allowed to sell those privately.
Today, there are more than 7,000 plots occupying more than 81,000 acres on which organic food is farmed in
Cuba. Many of these are located in urban areas as well as rural venues. In Havana, there are more than 200 gardens, some in
small spaces between tower block estates, that supply the city’s population with more than 90% of their fruit and vegetables.
The farmers are obligated to farm a certain amount of products for the Cuban government. The surplus then belongs to the farmers
who sell it for profit, which is divided among them.
After the Soviet Union dropped Cuba like a hot potato, the island country found itself without finances. At
that time, Cuba imported much of its food, so it had to change its methods to feed its citizens. The Independent daily
newspaper of Great Britain ran a story on August 8, 2006, titled, "The Good Life in Havana: Cuba’s Green Revolution."
According to the article:
Twenty years ago, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Fidel Castro’s small island faced a food
crisis. Today, its networks of small urban farmers is thriving, an organic success story that is feeding the nation …
… Mr. Salcines and his small urban farm at Alamar, an eastern suburb of the capital, Havana, are at
the center of a social transformation that may turn out to be as important as anything else that has been achieved during
Castro’s 47 years in power.
Spurred into action by the collapse of the Soviet Union and the disastrous impact on its subsidized economy,
the government of Cuba was forced to take radical steps to feed its people. The solution it chose — essentially unprecedented
both within the developed and underdeveloped world — was to establish a self-sustaining system of agriculture that by
necessity was essentially organic.
Laura Enriquez, a sociologist at the University of California, Berkeley, who has written extensively on the
subject of Latin American agriculture, said, "What happened in Cuba was remarkable. It was remarkable that they decided to
prioritize food production. Other countries in the region took the neo-liberal option and exported 'what they were good
at’ and imported food. The Cubans went for food security and part of that was prioritizing small farmers."
Currently, the population of Cuba suffers diabetes at about 10% the rate of U.S. citizens who have the disease.
Maybe the malady will be eradicated in Cuba someday.
In addition to diabetes, obesity creates deadly problems with one’s heart, lungs, liver and kidneys.
But, there is no national program to dissuade people from over-eating or eating processed foods that create fatal diseases.
For instance, a recent report stated that someone at age 30 who eats one hot dog a day, or the equivalent
in a processed meat, will be 21% more apt to have contracted colon cancer within five years than those who do not adhere to
such dietary habits. Another report said that if someone eats two hot dogs a day for 10 years, that person will have a 90%
chance of attaining colon cancer.
Now, let’s look at some of the crowds who recently have sprung up to either support or oppose the sleight-of-hand
Obama healthcare plan. Most of the people carrying signs and who loudly state their opinions are obese, however, not one is
carrying a sign to oppose the eating habits of U.S. citizens.
Last year, a Florida doctor tried to gain the public’s awareness for a healthy eating regimen. What
is his reward? He was fired and is facing lawsuits. According to an article posted on MSNBC on August 13, 2009, called "Florida
Doctor Ousted After Denouncing Donuts:"
Dr. Jason Newsom railed against burgers, french fries, fried chicken and sweet tea in his campaign to promote
better eating in a part of the country known as the Redneck Riviera. He might still be leading the charge if he had only left
the doughnuts alone.
A 38-year-old former Army doctor who served in Iraq, Newsom returned home to Panama City a few years ago to
run the Bay County Health Department and launched a one-man war on obesity by posting sardonic warnings on an electronic sign
outside:
"Sweet Tea Liquid Sugar."
He then added signs stating: "Hamburger Spare Tire," "French Fires Thunder Thighs." He also mentioned Kentucky
Fried Chicken by name as he tried to educate the public about the perils of fried chicken. But, his criticism of donuts did
him in. The article continued:
Then he parodied "America Runs on Dunkin'," the doughnut chain's slogan, with: "America Dies on Dunkin'."
Some power players in the Gulf Coast tourist town decided they had had their fill.
A county commissioner who owns a doughnut shop and two lawyers who own a new Dunkin' Donuts on Panama City
Beach turned against him, along with some of his own employees, Newsom says. After the lawyers threatened to sue, his bosses
at the Florida Health Department made him remove the anti-fried dough rants and eventually forced him to resign, he says.
(For non-U.S. readers, Dunkin’ Donuts is a nationwide donut shop that sells dozens of styles of donuts.
Currently, there are more than 5,000 Dunkin Donut outlets in the U.S.)
A small portion of the U.S. public is aware of the hazards of processed food and attempt to eat organic items.
Unfortunately, they are not widely available. Many towns may offer a "Farmer’s Market" for a few hours on one day a
week in which farmers can sell their goods. Unlike Cuba, however, the prices of organic food in the U.S. are much higher than
those of processed items. In other words, it is a luxury to try to eat healthy food.
The cost of healthcare in the U.S. far exceeds the cost of a preventive educational program about health for
the U.S. public. Imagine if the U.S. called off the war in Iraq for one week. The savings in money would allow the government
to produce and supply the public with healthy organic food. But, there are two problems with such a plan: 1. Nobody would
make a profit, therefore making the plan un-American. 2. Instead of killing people, the money could be spent on helping people
live, again another un-American concept.
During the 2008 presidential campaign, both major parties referred to the mainstream American as "Joe Six-Pack."
What a degrading term, yet it was embraced by the public. Despite its abhorance, the term is quite accurate. Millions of U.S.
males sit in front of a TV, swilling beer, and cheer for their favorite football team, or holler obscenities at the TV when
the opponents score. About the only cardiovascular exercise they practice consists of their lung power and their vocal chords.
Just think if these same millions of football fans decided not to watch the Sunday NFL game and took a walk or a swim and
quenched their thirst with fresh fruit juice or water. But, again, that is un-American. It would be considered a part of a
communist plot.
I have always maintained that those nations who oppose U.S. hegemony are wrong in their approach to bring
justice to the world. Instead of speaking up against the imperialist actions of the U.S., they should keep quiet and out of
the radar. Within a few decades, the U.S. public just might eat itself to death.
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