On 5/24/07, Nick Arnett <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > On 5/24/07, Mauro Diotallevi <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > > > > The laziness issue is that too many people eat unhealthy foods and live > > unhealthy lifestyles and then go complain to their doctors when they > > become > > unhealthy. > > > And I think we can credit some very effective and profitable marketing for > part of this behavior. > > Wish I knew how to address that problem, but I don't. Education, perhaps, > but if they're competing with each other, marketing has a lot more money. > > They expect modern medicine to be able to fix any problem they > > happen to acquire along the way, instead of taking the responsibility > and > > doing the work it takes to stay healthy. Our doctors and nurses -- and > > our > > health care dollars -- are taken up treating people who could have > > avoided > > their health problems by making healthier decisions. Reducing the > number > > of > > people in the health care system would go a long way towards fixing the > > system. > > > By letting those who are to blame for their own illnesses just die? ;-) > Seriously, though, I'd have a hard time differentiating personal from > systemic causes for unhealthly lifestyles when there's so much effort > invested in advocating them in advertising, marketing and so > forth. People > are social creatures; it's naive to imagine that some sort of "Just say > no" > mentality would make all those problems go away. I'm not saying you're > making that argument, but I've certainly heard it. >
Nope, I'm not advocating anything as drastic as, "you've made your bed, now butter it" (to quote an old teacher of mine who preferred his metaphores well-mixed) (or is that, "You buttered your bread, now lie in it.") (Or is that, "lay.") :-) I'm just advocating people taking more responsibility for themselves. I've seen too many people who eat nothing but junk food and never exercise complaining about the low quality of health care that they receive, when they are being a big part of their own problem. I know there's no quick and easy way to make people act responsibly. People just need to take more personal responsibility, and not only in healthcare issues. -- Mauro Diotallevi "Hey, Harry, you haven't done anything useful for a while -- you be the god of jello now." -- Patricia Wrede, 8/16/2006 on rasfc _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
