This started out as a comment over at Anne’s blog, The Gods are Bored and grew so long (and so snarky) that it deserved a post of its own.  Anne write about how in her opinion that Whole Foods CEO John Mackey is a moron par excellence.  I happen to agree. But, don’t take it from me, or Anne, read his words yourself.

“Most of the diseases that kill us and account for about 70% of all health-care spending—heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes and obesity—are mostly preventable through proper diet, exercise, not smoking, minimal alcohol consumption and other healthy lifestyle choices.”

I understand now .. its suddenly clear … if only Id realized that I could’ve avoided all of my and my family’s health issues so easily. With diet, exercise and of course (I’m sure) shopping organically at Whole Foods.

My daughter doesn’t REALLY need medication for her depression.  My husband didn’t really NEED that spinal fusion surgery, he did that for fun.  Oh and I got BORED and decided that a hysterectomy would break up the monotony.  And I guess if we’d eaten more carrots that 3 of the 4 of us could’ve SKIPPED on needing eyeglasses.

If only I’d shopped at Whole Foods my placenta would’ve behaved and I wouldn’t have needed that emergency C-section I had with my youngest (and she wouldn’t have required that pesky NICU stay).  When my daughter fell off her scooter there wouldn’t have been a need for stitches – even though I could see bone – she would’ve healed up just fine.

And since I can trust in living to 90 or 100 I can always ignore the risks associated with my genetic condition neurofibromatosis. I can ignore routine checkups, colonoscopies, mammograms, blood work, and my kids’ immunizations.

I guess I’d never again have to worry about our allergies or my all too frequent upper respiratory infections and I can finally “just say no” to annual Pap smears – hooray!

But, the brilliance continues …

“Health care is a service that we all need, but just like food and shelter it is best provided through voluntary and mutually beneficial market exchanges. A careful reading of both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution will not reveal any intrinsic right to health care, food or shelter. That’s because there isn’t any. This “right” has never existed in America.”

Insofar as this lovely but of prose …. technically he’s right.

But, perhaps the fact that food shelter and health care are not guaranteed by the constitution (though one could argue that the right to them is implied by the right to “life”) is the root cause of many of societies ills – literally and figuratively.

In other words Mr. Mackey, that’s the problem.

We live in one of the wealthiest nations in the world and yet too many of our citizens lack a permanent, safe place to call home. Even among those who are lucky enough to have a home, many struggle to continue to pay ever increasing rent, mortgages, and property taxes. It’s hard to stay healthy when you have to constantly find a new shelter to sleep in or, even worse, have to sleep out in the elements.

We live in one of the wealthiest nations in the world and yet too many of our citizens cannot afford to eat sufficient, healthy, and regular meals. Even among those who are lucky enough to never go hungry still often find themselves struggling to find more room in their budgets as food costs continue to rise. It’s hard to stay healthy when you can’t afford to make the “right choices” at the supermarket.

We live in one of the wealthiest nations in the world and yet too many of our citizens lack health insurance. Even among those lucky enough to have health insurance, many struggle to be able to afford to keep it, never mind use it. It’s really hard to stay healthy when you skip on preventative care because you just don’t have the cash to afford to pay the doctor or to afford your copay.

In other words Mr. Mackey illustrates the stumbling block to Health Care Reform perfectly.

He simply doesn’t get it.

Even worse, he doesn’t even care to try.

And that is what makes him a moron.

Blessings

Mama Kelly

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