David Frum, author of "Comeback: Conservatism that Can Win Again" has a weird solution to the "obesity epidemic"---liberalism.
Despite his role as a spoiler for Al Gore in the 2000 elections, Ralph Nader is known for his book Unsafe at Any Speed. It’s generally considered canon for anyone who has a disturbing love for seat belts, flat rubberized dashboards, and government regulation. In David Frum’s latest piece he channels Nader, laying out a massive (no pun intended) problem for the nation that needs fixing: obesity. Unfortunately, his suggestions all lead down the path to a bigger, bloated federal government (pun intended). Perhaps he can write a book: Fat at Any Calorie Count.
Weight gain is driven by two trends: increases in calories consumed and decrease in calories expended. Modern America induces both.
For example: The after-inflation cost of sugary soda has declined by an estimated 48% over the past 20 years. Correspondingly, consumption of sugary soda has soared: Sugary soda is now the single most important source of calories in the American diet.
Hmmm. I wonder if David thinks the federal government might want to start taxing soda. Social engineering through the tax system! Brilliant! Since Europe is already doing it, and David seems like the kind of guy who takes his cues from French elitists, I’m guessing he’d be pro-soda tax.
But wait, there’s more:
Americans could theoretically compensate for more sedentary lifestyles by stepping up their recreational exercise — but only about 20% of Americans bother. Some 80% never do — including presumably all those failed dieters.
Want to change this? It’s no small project. It would involve the redesign of cities, the relocation of schools, the reinvention of our modes of eating and amusement.
First lady Michelle Obama has made healthy eating her special project. Good for her, and let’s hope her efforts lead to success. But if we are to succeed, we should understand: The campaign against obesity will have to look a lot less like the campaign against smoking (which involves just one decision, to smoke or not to smoke) and much more like the generation-long campaign against highway fatalities, which required the redesign of cars, the redesign of highways, and changes in personal behavior like seat-belt use and drunk driving.
Ralph Nader? Check. Michelle Obama and the “no unlimited soup, salad, and breadsticks for you” Olive Garden plan? Check. The call for more city planners (i.e., bureaucrats) and busy bodies to solve a problem that doesn’t need city planners? Check.
How much do you want to bet that David’s book, Comeback: Conservatism That Can Win Again, really just says that conservatives should become liberals? It’s kind of hard to believe otherwise when he seems to recoil in the face of actual conservatism.
As I’ve said before, we don’t have an obesity epidemic, we have a stupidity epidemic. The way to solve this problem isn’t by asking the American people to abdicate more freedoms and personal responsibilities to the federal government—it’s by demanding more of the American people. It’s by teaching them that there can be value gained through self-denial and sacrifice. Common sense is no longer common, but the answer to our problems isn’t to let guys like David Frum or women like Michelle Obama “solve” them.
Want to solve the “obesity epidemic,” David? Try conservatism:
Conservatives who face down steel plates regularly know that they can glean important life lessons from their routines. They approach the cold, uncaring metal (that doesn’t respond to excuses or sob stories) like they do life, and they’re much better for it.
Working out with a friend or a complete stranger whose genetics or upbringing has them looking better or lifting more than you from the get go? The weights don’t care. Inequalities exist – deal with it. Work harder and smarter than the next guy. Put in hours in the gym or your basement or the garage long after everyone else is out partying, and more often than not the long haul will reward you. And if not, who cares – because there’s always someone who’s bigger and faster and stronger than you. And in the end it’s not really about the weights anyway. It’s about the work ethic that carries over into other aspects of your life without you realizing it. It’s about knowing that there’s a deeper meaning to life, and that the picture becomes clearer through sweat and effort instead of sloth and apathy.
If the “conservative” in your life mines the Ralph Nader file for solutions to our country’s biggest problems, he’s probably not conservative. And if he says he’ll see you “on the jogging path” he’s probably not one to turn to for weight loss advice, either.
Now Navy Divers…you can learn a lot from those guys.
Best,
Doug
January 3, 2012
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