Everyone tries to declare how special they are. While various groups debate their differences, define their histories and otherwise demonstrate their significance on what is becoming a very small planet, there is one undeniable fact that lingers in the back of our brain. We are all going to die from something. We may die quickly and violently, or we may linger and suffer before we pass on. But the stark fact is sooner or later we are checking out of here.
It is almost funny that this is perhaps the one remaining single fact where there is little or no debate. We argue about everything else. We argue about the big stuff, and we argue about the little stuff. We argue about global warming. We debate the merits and deficiencies of race, gender, and sexual preferences. We argue about gravity and the age of the Earth. We can spend hours debating the morality of everything from where to buy the best pair of jeans to driving an SUV. We argue whether we Darwin evolved or were a product of a divine plan explained to us ever so precisely through umpteen religions and secular theories. We argue whether cow farts and bottled water will hurtle out planet to its impending doom.
We argue incessantly. Taking sides and shouting each other down has become a major industry. You can’t market complexity and nuance, because thoughts that are complex and nuanced are disturbing and prey on our insecurities. We are more secure with crackpot theories than we are with uncertainty. So we argue in absolutes, and even then we prefer to keep our absolutes simple. If they are not simple, you can’t buy the books, go to the lectures and otherwise listen to the pundits and politicians who cater to our particular set of beliefs. Simply put, if you can’t put your thoughts on a tee shirt, they probably ain’t worth remembering.
But then every once in awhile some actual facts escape from spin cycle and we are confronted with their statistical reality. These are not the speculative statistics or manipulated statistics, positioned just to validate our point of view. No. Instead these are the types of fact that are actually hard to argue with. The ugly truth as it is sometimes known. These are the simple numbers that lay reality at your feet like an abandoned child that nobody wants to nurture. These are facts that remain consistent regardless of the cause , blame or subjectivity. These are the facts that leave little wiggle room, that are distinctive in their certainty so that debating them appears more like futile buffoonery than rational argument.
Such facts? Not only are we going to die, but we are actually killing ourselves. Maybe it’s the lemming concept or the human version of the long march to the elephant graveyard. Maybe its gross denial mixed with complex mixtures of stupidity and ignorance. Maybe deep down we just don’t care. Maybe our compulsion toward self-indulgence is so great that nothing, especially common sense, will get in the way of our collective suicide.
I am not talking here about the macro levels, the easy stuff, nuclear war, global warning, and the death of the planet. I am not even speculating on the probability of the sun eventually burning to the cinder or a meteor clipping us when we least expect it. Even global starvation and massive pandemics are not on the table here. Being invaded and eaten, as Stephen Hawking recently predicted, by aliens from another planet; we can forget about that, too. I am talking about how through our lack of responsibility we are in fact taking responsibility for doing ourselves in.
You should know what you are on line levitra taking aforementioned drugs. That component along with an additional hormone manufactured in actual body cGMP cast any offering part in order to destroy the actual existence on the devastating enzymes PDE5 manufactured in the actual blood stream. cheap super viagra The condition throws them to the time super generic cialis when they can’t reachthe orgasm yet. Cures male impotence generic cialis for sale and erectile dysfunction. New studies report that nearly half the adult population in America has high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or diabetes. One in eight is playing the quinella, where they have at least two out of three of these diseases. According to an article in the Los Angeles Times, 15% of us are walking around unaware we are afflicted with at least one of the three diseases. Which means to me, folks can pontificate authoritatively about everything from the rash on our ass to the Rapture and the End of Days, and yet still walk around having no idea they are seriously ill. We talk about lofty things like taking care of the planet and taking care of the poor, but yet we can’t seem to take care of ourselves.
What is even more interesting that certain diseases plague certain ethnic groups more than others. In America, African-Americans are prone to high blood pressure. Those of European descent find high cholesterol gets in their way, while Latinos suffer more from diabetes. Surely, there is some extension of these disease from one ethnic group to another, hands across the water so to speak. Also, there are other serious diseases that afflict different groups. I realize their are environmental concerns and individual or familial congenital defects. And then, in terms of health and fortune, it sometimes boils down to nothing more than the luck of the draw. But for our purposes we can stick with the article and just these three diseases.
While each ethnic group seems more in peril from a particular affliction, the causes for each of the diseases are pretty much the same. Mainly the causes revolve around smoking, a junk diet, obesity, and physical inactivity, better known as the sedentary lifestyle that makes the purchase of one of those fat mover electric scooters almost irresistible to some of the late night cable crowd. I would think no irony should be lost on the fact that our true common ground is our self-indulgence and bad health.
I have often found it just a tad specious that just about every ethnic group likes to brag about its past. Each ethnic group and nationality can go on for days about its glorious heritage and its contributions to civilization. There is no end to their performances and days of glory. Then. It is not that a disbelieve their claims. But often find myself searching for their particular relevance in the modern world. I wonder if all the casting back to the past serves as a distraction from the vagaries of our present times. I realize others will view a world through a different prism, but I tend toward the pragmatic and prefer to see how those past achievements can best be put to use in the modern day. How do we put them to use, and where does it leave us now?
From the looks of things, it leaves us obese with hypertension, diabetes, and high cholesterol. All represented in one form or another in the same collective rut. So in existential terms, regardless of specific achievements attributable to one group or another, we are all sitting here, living in denial and dying sooner than we should. If there is any consolation; it’s all pretty democratic. No matter what our ancestry, half of us are taking the decided inaction to let the quality of life slip out of our reach. We talk grandiose about saving the planet, but according to the recent study, we are having a tough time saving ourselves.
We talk about being sensitive to our surrounding, aware of the environment, our fellow creatures, and the challenges we are faced with. But yet in terms of our own well being, fifty percent of us can’t get out of our own way. We can’t hurdle our indulgences or come to terms with the realities of our own health concerns. Yeah, sure, we like to talk about it. We talk about the junk food, our carnivorous habits, and the polluted air we breathe. We even see the doctor. Yet here we are.
So I guess at the end of all this I am forced to wonder how are we doing to do all this planet saving when we can barely hurdle our personal afflictions? Is there any real logic to fending off hunger, water shortages, and global warming, while we continually ignore the factors causing our own demise? Here was are, ethnically speaking, all stuck with some kind of health burden and the best we can do is to skew the statistics to our own disadvantage. Maybe in the face of loftier ideals, the notion of the best example is the way we take care of ourselves.
