Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Should Politics and Personal Health Share A Bed?

Good Morning folks!!

I have a feeling that today is going to be an absolutely wonderful day! The snow is off the roads in Pittsburgh and its supposed to warm up into the 40 and 50's for the rest of the week. I am making great progress on my school work.. SO CLOSE TO BEING DONE! Its midterms next week and spring break the week after ( I dont get a spring break bc I work but still) and that means that I only have two months left until I can officially call myself an MBA Graduate : ) : ) I had a great hill work out yesterday that made me so tired and it felt good to feel that again. Plus I am waiting to hopefully hear some good news by the end of the week.

Now, If you follow my twitter account (which I think you should please.. @fitnessnat ) you might have seen a tweet from me a few days ago talking about Rush Limbaugh and his yet again misguided speech regarding Michelle Obama. Basically, Rush condemned Michelle for taking her kids to a ribs restaurant and having junk food at a superbowl party because she is at the front of the fighting childhood obesity movement.

Here is one of the articles regarding the rant : http://www.examiner.com/celebrity-fitness-and-health-in-national/rush-limbaugh-michelle-obama-is-no-sports-illustrated-swimsuit-model

Again I will state that I dont understand why any sane person would want to squash someones efforts to make our youth healthier? I dont buy the "nanny state" bullshit.. if the NFL starts the 60 minutes of play campaign, they are idolized because theyre getting kids moving and into sports. If Michelle Obama suggests it.. shes creating a socialist nanny state. C'mon people.. The truth of the matter is that overall health is teaching your kids how to even eat junk food sensibly. It is not a realistic notion to say that in their lives, kids will never be exposed to junk food and so its better to show them how to eat it sensibly, work it off through activity and eat it in moderation.

Although I choose to believe that no one would take Rush Limbaughs rants seriously because the man is an absolute nut case. I do find irony in the fact that a man who has had health problems himself and would be considered moribedly obese would be considered in any way an qualified person to have an opinion on american health. Listen Rush, No one wants to see you on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue either..yeesh : / ..Get YOUR weight, high blood pressure and chest pains under control and then maybe we'll talk about a small section in the back of the mag...with a few rules.. no pictures and oh we dont want you opinion on anything.

So with health care being a rising debate in the past few years.. Do you think that politics should have a say in your health? Do you think that Michelle should be allowed to make suggestions about how to make your kids active or help put laws in to place to create healthier school lunches? To be honest, I dont think America as a whole is doing such a great job of this on its own.. so maybe we need a push.. but I want to know what you think!

Comment below and let me know what your thoughts are.. do you agree or disagree?

5 comments:

  1. It is my opinion that one does not have to "be" what one has an opinion on. I have an opinion on the death penalty but that doesn't mean I have to be on death row. Therefore, Rush was not one taking a stand on youth health-Michelle was. He was taking a stand/his opinion on her being a hypocrite.

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  2. Hey,

    We definitely need a push in the right direction on child obesity and nutrition, we are moving very slowly in dealing with the problem.
    It's going to cost society billions of dollars in medical costs to treat these children when they grow up and have type 2 diabetes and are obese. It would be irresponsible to not address the problem swiftly and comprehensively.

    I don't think any rational person takes him seriously, he like many others are constantly trying to delegitimize anything this administration says or does. The administrations is wrong no matter what they do, in his eyes.

    Great post,
    Tyler

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  3. @wendy She isnt a hypocrite.. she would be a hypocrite if she was taking them for junk food constantly. If its every once in a while then she is teaching them moderation.

    @Tyler Thanks for your kind words and I agree. People only think in the short term

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  4. Life is meant to be enjoyed and enjoyment is an objective concept. If you enjoy going to a BBQ restaurant every once in a while, then go. If you enjoy cutting all of the unhealthy food from your life and running a marathon every day, then do it.

    What it comes down to is our need to validate anyone who is featured predominately in the media. Just because Rush Limbaugh has a public voice doesn't mean what he says is worth listening to. He's basically there to ruffle feathers and get ratings. If anyone looks to him for his valuable insight then they need to reevaluate where they get their news.

    There's no way you can look at someone treating their kids to decadence every once in a while and think that in anyway undermines their opinions on healthy living and obesity. People need to chill out.

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  5. @Bingepittsburgh Agreed. I really think that the point is to discredit the current administration in any way possible and since they cant really throw stones in the most influential areas.. they are choosing to attack character which is a low blow.

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