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The American Way

 

            What is the American way? As in all things wholly American these days, it is all a matter of who is to blame and who is to be cheered, with a dab of selective memory when it comes to history. America is a country of people who have made a culture out of being a victim. Therefore, cheering for the underdog is nothing new to Americans. It is, and has been historically, the American way. Today, America has become the nation where nothing is ever enough, because we still want/need more. We feel we are still deprived of something that should be ours. As a result, all negligence should fall upon another, because I am not responsible for it. Somehow, (with the right lawyers) I am the victim. .
             Take for instance the recent health news. Surgeon General David Satcher stated in 2001 that obesity had reached epidemic proportions " nearly 60 percent of adults, as well as nearly 13 percent of children, are overweight or obese. Obesity is also the leading cause of heart failure, cancer, diabetes and a host of other maladies. And the war on fat is nothing if not high profile " even celebrities like Al Roker, who generate entire marketing strategies on their ampleness, fight celebrated battles to kick the tire. It is clearly healthier to be leaner than larger.At least we know that Americans aren't going hungry. How does Americans react to this epidemic? They file class action lawsuits on the fast food industries and manufacturers of junkfood. We have become victims of some malicious scheme to wipe out Americans with fat. In one instance, a suit was filed against schools that sell such products as soft drinks and chips. While we demand the right to think for ourselves, and the right to privacy, and freedom to live socially free from control, we are basically proving ourselves to be people who are too stupid to feed themselves or our children. If people are so stupid, should they be allowed to vote or go to work in the morning?" The implication these lawsuits are making is on the ability of Americans to choose what they eat.


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