Health Care

This is by no means a comprehensive argument on the pros and cons of socialized health care, but for the moment, I just wanted to say this: I don't agree with socialized health care.

So many Americans take their health for granted. Heart disease, cancer, and stroke are the leading causes of death (not to mention, diabetes coming in a close 6th.) All these diseases have a large lifestyle aspect that factors into their causes. Before you freak out at my insensitivity, I'm a scientist. I know about genetics. I know sometimes we draw the short straw and get a bad combination of genes that predispose us to these illnesses. BUT, genetics aren't everything. Take responsibility for your health and for your life. Some of us have to try harder than other people. That's life.

The point is that I don't want my tax dollars paying for your irresponsibility. Am I saying there shouldn't be safety nets? No. Am I saying there shouldn't be compassion for genuinely uncontrollable circumstances? No. But if you shove junk through your body and watch reruns of Jersey Shore (an extreme example, I know) and wind up with diabetes or arteriosclerosis, don't expect me to front the bill.

I know I'm feeling rather unsympathetic today, but that's the harsh truth. Get over it.

New Years Resolutions: Day 1

Eat more vegetables.

I'm not a photographer, and so this probably doesn't look that appetizing, but I'm trying to put more pictures on my blog to make it more interesting now that I have a working camera. As you can see, that is a full plate of salad and steamed vegetables. Not to mention lentil soup on the side, which can also count as a serving of vegetables according to the Food Guide Pyramid.* This ratio of regular food: vegetables is going to apply to all my lunches and dinners until further notice. (Ideally it would be my whole life, but I don't want to give myself too daunting of a goal.) I'm also trying to cut out flour and sugar, which I was once successful at doing, and my body thanked me tremendously. I'll have to finish off a couple of items in my pantry, but soon I will be a flour-free, sugar-free, dairy-free herbivore. Bring on the spinach. Happy living!

*I normally don't follow the Food Guide Pyramid because I believe it mainly to be a bureaucratic device with a political agenda. Okay, that's maybe a little too cynical, but in a nutshell it is not the end all to human nutrition. As Michael Pollan says, "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."