We don’t talk much about good and evil in our society. We leave those discussions for the churches. And even there, it is primarily the conservative and evangelical churches that “rant” about the problems of evil and fighting the “devil” in our society. Whatever your spiritual beliefs, however, I think we are clear that there are certain evils in our world, evils that are clear no matter what we believe. I don’t think any of us would argue that killing or doing violence to others when we haven’t been threatened with the same is wrong. We also probably wouldn’t argue that taking or destroying other people’s property is wrong. Other wrongs might include the sex slave industry, child pornography and other abuses, and discrimination against or physical and economic abuse of women or people of color.
But other issues are trickier, maybe because their damage to lives takes longer to appear, maybe because we want to separate ourselves from certain parts of society, and maybe because we think people ought to be free to make their own choices even if in the long run these choices are harmful to themselves and other people. I am struck by two major social and health problems that have been hitting the news lately: pill mills in Florida and obesity. These are serious issues, and, as citizens, we need to seriously consider what to do about them, where to take a stand. We need to avoid staying oblivious or too busy or outside the loop. The numbers of people who die each year as a result of these problems far outweigh the numbers who are dying in the war in the Middle East. Why aren’t we paying more attention?
For instance, I was personally shocked to hear that Florida’s governor, Rick Scott, was shutting down the database whose purpose is to keep track of the prescription of addictive drugs so as to shut down “pill mills” in which doctors illegally and unethically distribute large quantities of pills. The point of the database is to save lives. And in Florida, seven people die each day as a result of overdoses on these pills, not to mention all those harmed in other states because dealers come to Florida to get these easily accessible pills. The database is considered so important that, even though it is being run by the State of Florida, it is completely funded by private donations. The Board members who have established and pushed for the database believe it to be so critical that some have paid their own travel and meal expenses and have contributed substantial amounts of money to establishing the database.
I certainly understand that addicted people need to take responsibility for their own behaviors, and that helping them to achieve sobriety should be a goal. But individual problems rarely belong solely to individuals, and so often larger system solutions are needed. We don’t hand a loaded gun to someone who is threatening suicide and is seriously depressed. We clear away all of the potential instruments of their destruction while they are still at risk and while we are assisting them to get help. Why would we not help the addicted in the same way? Do we just want to separate ourselves from this “evil” because it doesn’t have to do with us? Do we really think that we can live our lives so independently that we are not affected by the people who are dying down the street or by the crimes that are happening right next door?
And what about obesity, another major health threat? The number of deaths each year from obesity-related illnesses are staggering. The costs to the health care industry, that all of us pay for with our steadily increasing insurance premiums, are just as appalling. Our addictions to junk food continue to be fed by its relatively cheap cost and the barrages of advertisements in our media. And this addiction is socially acceptable, somehow. We can, at least in our minds, separate ourselves from drug addicts -- somehow we are “good” and they are “evil.” But, given that 30% of our country is obese, and food is not associated with the criminal element, we can’t really separate ourselves from the problem of obesity. It is right here in front of us every day. Even those parents who try to create healthy meals and try not to respond to the media frenzy find themselves struggling because of the pressure from their children to join “everyone else” in eating junk food so they won’t feel deprived.
How will we fight these evils? Why don’t we take a stand? What keeps us isolated in our homes, figuring that “everyone has a right to live their own lives as they choose?” Do they? Do they have the right to put people in danger? We demonstrate against war for many reasons, one of which its great danger to human life. As a country, we work diligently to stop dangerous dictators from harming and killing their people. And yet, we don’t invest in fighting evils that happen right here at home? Right in front of us? Are our consciences calloused? Are there so many evils that we are fatigued with the fight? Or are we simply not naming evil for what it is? Are we not seeing that we have power and therefore responsibility? Are we keeping ourselves too busy to be proactive? Are we unconsciously moving through life instead of consciously choosing to engage fully in moving against evil and acting for right? Are we leaving it to others, who are increasingly underfunded and therefore undermotivated or unable to act as effectively as is needed?
How will you answer those questions? Until we all invest some energy in answering them, it is unlikely that we will solve the problems.
Showing posts with label obesity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label obesity. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Values: The Antidote to Self-Control Fatigue
January! The month we all make our New Year’s Resolutions. And the month we all start failing at our New Year’s Resolutions! For years, mine was to lose weight – not an uncommon resolution, I understand. (I didn’t make any this year. Keep reading and I’ll tell you why.) What about yours? Are they realistic? Do they ever make it beyond January? If not, why do you think that is?
George Will, columnist for The Washington Post, comments on New Year’s resolutions in his article “Out of Control, By Choice,” in which he reviews Daniel Akst’s book, We Have Met the Enemy: Self-Control in an Age of Excess. As I read the article, I thought about my daughter’s frequent and repeated requests: “Can I have…,” “I want….,” “For my next birthday, I’m gonna ask for. . .,” “Why can’t I have. . .?” And if I suggest to her that she save her allowance, I often get, “But Mooooom. . .,” or “But everyone else has. . .,” or “I wish we were rich, then I could have all these things that I want that everyone else gets just by asking.”
And yet, aren’t many of us like my 11-year-old? We want what we want when we want it, and if the cash is in our pockets, we say, “Why not?” And “it” is constantly, and many times instantly, available these days (one of the points made by the book and Will’s article). This seemingly unlimited availability challenges our self-control. In the case of food – as both authors discuss – we seem to be fighting a losing battle. Obesity has become a national health crisis in our country. Says Will, “One third of Americans are merely overweight, another third are obese. Since 1980, obesity has doubled. . . and the number of diabetics has more than quadrupled.”
But food is clearly not the only temptation – the same can be said about buying almost anything, about sex and drugs and recreational activities. What does it say about us that we can’t seem to get enough?
I, and many other mental health providers and spiritual leaders, would say we are trying to fill up the empty places in our hearts and souls, and we are going about it ways that have no chance of succeeding. Not only that, our unsuccessful efforts take a great deal of time and money, both of which could be better spent on activities that had some chance of success and could provider longer lasting satisfaction. The result of our misdirected efforts are all sorts of personal and societal problems – obesity, as already mentioned, runaway debt, lack of time for interacting meaningfully with friends and family, a lack of a sense of community in our neighborhoods. And the longer term effects include most of what we see in the news these days: a national debt crisis resulting from bailing out criminally negligent financial and other institutions and from our governments’ attempts to prevent more fall out; failing schools; increasing addiction; increasingly polarized political rhetoric; and innocent people being shot by mentally ill people.
What if our New Year’s resolutions were to end the frantic chase after more and better things and entertainment and take a stand for moral and ethical values. We would all get to decide what values we want to be central in our own lives – for instance, love, responsibility, fairness, giving back to society, among many others. But the key daily questions for us after deciding on a set of core ethical values would be, “How will I live out those values today?” “How does what I am thinking about doing today reflect those values?”
With those values at the center of who we are and what we do, we can cease the frenetic and inherently flawed chase after more and better stuff or excitement. We can increase the likelihood of life satisfaction, healthy and loving relationships, and spending that fits our means. We can build the types of communities that will simply and loudly say, “NO!” to the craziness we read in the daily papers. We can declare with our words and behavior, “We simply will not tolerate living in this sort of world!” “We will proactively do whatever is necessary to change it for the better!” And, “We will do it by letting our values lead, rather than being pulled too and fro by ‘flavor of the day.’”
George Will, columnist for The Washington Post, comments on New Year’s resolutions in his article “Out of Control, By Choice,” in which he reviews Daniel Akst’s book, We Have Met the Enemy: Self-Control in an Age of Excess. As I read the article, I thought about my daughter’s frequent and repeated requests: “Can I have…,” “I want….,” “For my next birthday, I’m gonna ask for. . .,” “Why can’t I have. . .?” And if I suggest to her that she save her allowance, I often get, “But Mooooom. . .,” or “But everyone else has. . .,” or “I wish we were rich, then I could have all these things that I want that everyone else gets just by asking.”
And yet, aren’t many of us like my 11-year-old? We want what we want when we want it, and if the cash is in our pockets, we say, “Why not?” And “it” is constantly, and many times instantly, available these days (one of the points made by the book and Will’s article). This seemingly unlimited availability challenges our self-control. In the case of food – as both authors discuss – we seem to be fighting a losing battle. Obesity has become a national health crisis in our country. Says Will, “One third of Americans are merely overweight, another third are obese. Since 1980, obesity has doubled. . . and the number of diabetics has more than quadrupled.”
But food is clearly not the only temptation – the same can be said about buying almost anything, about sex and drugs and recreational activities. What does it say about us that we can’t seem to get enough?
I, and many other mental health providers and spiritual leaders, would say we are trying to fill up the empty places in our hearts and souls, and we are going about it ways that have no chance of succeeding. Not only that, our unsuccessful efforts take a great deal of time and money, both of which could be better spent on activities that had some chance of success and could provider longer lasting satisfaction. The result of our misdirected efforts are all sorts of personal and societal problems – obesity, as already mentioned, runaway debt, lack of time for interacting meaningfully with friends and family, a lack of a sense of community in our neighborhoods. And the longer term effects include most of what we see in the news these days: a national debt crisis resulting from bailing out criminally negligent financial and other institutions and from our governments’ attempts to prevent more fall out; failing schools; increasing addiction; increasingly polarized political rhetoric; and innocent people being shot by mentally ill people.
What if our New Year’s resolutions were to end the frantic chase after more and better things and entertainment and take a stand for moral and ethical values. We would all get to decide what values we want to be central in our own lives – for instance, love, responsibility, fairness, giving back to society, among many others. But the key daily questions for us after deciding on a set of core ethical values would be, “How will I live out those values today?” “How does what I am thinking about doing today reflect those values?”
With those values at the center of who we are and what we do, we can cease the frenetic and inherently flawed chase after more and better stuff or excitement. We can increase the likelihood of life satisfaction, healthy and loving relationships, and spending that fits our means. We can build the types of communities that will simply and loudly say, “NO!” to the craziness we read in the daily papers. We can declare with our words and behavior, “We simply will not tolerate living in this sort of world!” “We will proactively do whatever is necessary to change it for the better!” And, “We will do it by letting our values lead, rather than being pulled too and fro by ‘flavor of the day.’”
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