The Demands of a Fat Person: A Rant
May 13, 2008 by McBloggenstein
We all live in a society. The formation of societies are the mark of civilized life-forms. Societies serve to increase the standard of living of the individual by having everyone work together. Living in a society is why you don’t have to grow your own food or kill your own meat. It’s why you can drive a car, and probably will never be robbed or murdered. It’s why you were educated, for the betterment of your society.
Societies make us better human beings. They allow us to thrive together, and to have culture.
But, there will always be those people that feel as though they are special. They demand certain things that only they require, but no one else has a need for. These demands will not benefit the many, only the few. Yet, they still demand. They hope that if their numbers grow, their voice will then be louder, and society will listen. Then they may not have to take responsibility for their actions.
**warning - metaphor alert**
If certain people suddenly began shooting themselves in the foot (for no apparent reason), can they demand that their society pitch in to pay for the manufacturing of bullet proof shoes? Because the purpose of a society is to also rally together to help the individual in a time of aid, those shoes will probably be made, at first. But when more and more people are shooting themselves in the foot, and seemingly are not very concerned about it, and demanding louder that the bullet proof shoes be made, at what point as a society do we say “Enough is enough!!”?
At what point do we stop accommodating these people? These people who were not born into the path that they live, but have chosen their path. What is the point in which a group of people within a society become such a drain on it that the society recognizes that it is no longer beneficial to make sacrifices to help them? That always being politically correct about the problem is not going to help anyone?
A society will need to stop licking its wounds, start preventing the problem, and stop coddling those that drain upon it.
Education is key.
Prevention is key.
Accommodation is not.
Seriously, your point is spot on.
As individuals and as a society, we make decisions based upon what those decisions will do for us or against us.
When you toss some change to (not at) a panhandler, you are trading your hard earned money for some emotional benefit.
You aren’t receiving any good or service for your money. So why?
If you believe in heaven, maybe you are trying to ‘earn’ your way in. Maybe you feel guilty for your wealth (or lack thereof) Or maybe, you are just scared that if you don’t give the guy a quarter, he is going to jump up and stab you in the neck.
When society/government decides to spend my money, I want to see a benefit.
If someone gets cancer from working in the coal mill so that it can be burned to produce electricity so that I can watch a dvd on tv on a Sunday night, then fine, I am more than willing to chip in for his treatment.
Now, if someone overeats themselves into a state where their health is in jeopardy, maybe they should get bariatric surgery.
I just don’t want to pay for it.
What are they putting on the line?
Maybe they pay up front, and agree to exercise & eat right. Work out at a community centre gym & submit grocery bills & keep an online food & diet log.
If they keep the weight off for X years, they get a partial refund.
My problem isn’t with the overweight person, it is with the government that spends my money like a drunken sailor.
Whew, tired
I agree with your conclusion. However, the reason that things have gotten to the state that they are in is that too many people think the way you are thinking in your introduction.
Societies don’t make us better human beings. Better human beings make other human beings’ lives better, and when that happens, we call it “society”. But it’s individuals who create the benefits that the bulk of society takes for granted — like easy access to food. It is in forgetting that somebody has to provide the ingenuity and labor and take the risks that make these things possible, that people are able to claim that they have a right to these products, and that they are entitled to government help when they hurt themselves by abusing those benefits. This sense of entitlement ignores the questions of who provides the benefits, and who pays for the care? These burdens are never placed on the people who receive the benefits, who admit that they are unable to support such a burden — it’s always placed on the providers.
You were not educated for the betterment of your society. You were educated (1) so that your parents could both work and both pay income taxes, and (2) to prevent you from becoming a productive member of society. School does not teach children any marketable skills — even literacy and numeracy are deplorable.
Ignoring the question of who provides the benefits in society, and assuming that government-provided education is good for your children, are two of the main reasons that people who complain about the state of our society do so.
DR, good point about the coal miner analogy. I couldn’t see many people arguing with that one.
Adam,
That’s a very interesting view of society. Your point about how people have a sense of entitlement is pretty good.
I don’t agree with your point about education only producing un-productive members of society. If you compared the productivity of a high school graduate verses a drop-out, the ones that don’t finish school or fail out are much bigger drains on society. Some might say it’s just because they don’t have a piece of paper that says they graduated (harder to get a job), but it’s about the accomplishment. It’s about finishing something.
Drop-outs are more likely to commit crimes, need financial assistance, and have more kids than they can afford.