Metaphor is a masterful way to convey big concepts. Jesus taught in parables, and I totally get it. They access the mind from a side door, bypassing defenses and allowing you to see clearly without the distraction of your biases. I especially love when you can replace just one word or phrase in a text to illustrate a point. It can also make for some killer jokes. Have you heard about Dihydrogen Monoxide? Here's a great fact website about it. I wish I had thought of this myself.
A friend once told me that if coffee were just now discovered instead of having been discovered centuries ago, it would be regulated for its effects as a highly addictive stimulant. That might be taking it a bit far, but then again, maybe not. I've known people to jones daily for coffee, to need it daily as soon as they wake up and maybe a few more, incapable of focusing on anything or being pleasant or enjoying life until they get some of it, even if they're on vacation. They're perfectly willing to overpay for it if needed. If I told you all that without using the word "coffee," wouldn't you think my friend might have a problem?
Here's another word replacement. I believe "liberal"and "conservative" social thought have a lot more in common than it would seem. That differences are just a matter of how, exactly, to achieve the same transcendental ends both groups seek, ends like justice, peace, equality, freedom, and human dignity. An example: Who would not be moved by the plight of this disadvantaged group of humans: they're often demonized, though innocent; largely speaking, society does not respect, protect, or love them, much less openly embrace them; they're in pain, though that pain is rarely made public and opponents attempt to minimize it; the laws of the land don't really reflect their interests and often actively impede their ability to live freely; they're often misunderstood or overlooked entirely; someone else makes their biggest choices for them, choices with which they might not agree; the situation is vital, desperate, time-sensitive and deeply personal for each of them. This group is crying out for champions from every demographic. They really need Americans to lay aside their political chatter and attempts to please everyone or stay popular and actually help them out right now instead of just talking. Who did you think of? Unfortunately, I'm sure many groups could fit this bill. What if I told you this was about the abortion issue? Now who would you think of? I believe pro-abortion folks would say this is talking about the mothers (though they'd probably prefer a term like women seeking abortion) and pro-lifers would say this is clearly referring to the unborn (fetuses, babies, whatever you choose... tiny humans, at any rate). Hopefully, both "liberals" and "conservatives" operate from a place of compassion and a real desire to help make the world a better place to live. Just swap out a few words to find how much we have in common, even on one of the great struggles (I wish I could call it a dialogue but I haven't seen much of that) of our time.
We have such a different perspective on history now that it's over. Watch some Mad Men (set in the 1960's) and you'll see lots of unbelievable things: people smoking on airplanes, kids wrestling in the backseat of a moving car - mom yells at them for that but doesn't even mention their unworn, untouched seatbelts, a family dumping trash from their picnic over the edge of a cliff without a second thought, even a little girl with a giant clear plastic dry-cleaning bag over her head that covers almost her whole body, whose mother scolds her for displacing the clothes from the bag, without adding anything like, "OMG take that off, you'll suffocate!"
I wondered, and I know this is not an original thought to me, but I wondered if sometime in the future, refined sugar will be treated more like tobacco and we'll be shocked as a society that people would ever give it to their children. People will watch movies set in the past and laugh, baffled, at the rampant sugar consumption the way we do now about the seatbeltlessness in the 60's. "Really? That's a treat they gave all the kiddos at birthday parties? Don't they know? Guess back then, things were just different and they didn't have the science we have now." Tobacco was marketed to children until 1964, when advertising it to youth was banned, partly because it was finally beginning to be seen as a public health crisis.
Speaking of public health crises, with more than 1 in 3 U.S. adults obese and more than 2 in 3 overweight, plus a 17% obesity rate for children (with 1 in 3 overweight), it seems high time to label refined sugar products with the appropriate equivalent of those "SMOKING KILLS" labels that are required on cigarettes. According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) website, "the estimated annual cost of obesity in the U.S. was $147 billion in 2008 U.S. dollars; the medical costs for people who are obese were $1,429 higher than those of normal weight." I know obesity's a multifaceted issue, but sugar's not helping it. The litany of health, dental, and even emotional/mental/behavioral problems that chronic refined sugar consumption causes kids and adults can hardly be overstated in light of the fact that it has no benefits besides a fleeting moment of pleasure. Its addictive properties mimic heroin or cocaine, using the same brain pathways and the law of diminishing return (at some point, you need more and more to get the same effect as before).
I thought of the "danger" labels because one recent day at work I chose a healthy, whole-foods lunch and had a nice amount of energy during the afternoon as a result (okay, it took a few days of eating that way; there's lag time). Later in the day, I had some incredibly delicious cheesecake (mmm) provided free in the breakroom made with sugar and flour and noticed a corresponding energy slump a bit later. I thought, "drug and alcohol use are prohibited at work partly because they tend to negatively affect work performance... I know if I'd eaten a sugary, white-flour lunch I would be massively dragging right now... significantly less alert and motivated... with lowered performance. Doesn't it follow that eating this way should also be discouraged in a work setting?" I realize how far-fetched this sounds, but it probably sounded crazy to suggest the tobacco warnings, back in the day. "Aw, let people make their own choices... don't shame them." Or plastic bags over kids' heads. You know, harmless fun. Who would question that?
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