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It seems blazingly obvious that the country would be better off as a whole if people took better care of themselves. A highly obese populace contributes significantly to expensive health issues such as heart disease and diabetes, and this situation costs us all in health care expenses. So a reasonable person could conclude that if we took better care of ourselves we would all save money and live healthier lives. Would that not be a positive?
At the same time, the abject lack of self-discipline that Americans show in general is a clear cultural issue that cannot be "fixed" by governmental decree, nor is it the right or reponsbility of the government of a "free" people to put mandates on what we're "allowed" to eat and drink.
So it seems we have a bit of a problem. It would be nice, of course, if we had true leaders in our society (in or out of government) who could step up and help to change our slovenly, narcissistic, me-first-at-any-cost culture. But evidently no one is up to the task.
So we're stuck with people like Bloomberg (who thinks the government should be able to limit the ******* size of a ******* soda) and Palin (who thinks it's a real "hoot" to parade onstage with a Big Gulp without acknowledging the fact that Big Gulps are not very ******* good for you).
Our culture is in decay and I don't see any "leaders" changing that.
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