Cross posted at www.cala.com
I am certainly
not a role model for eating habits.
Believe me I will jump at an
Entenmann’s donut any day of the week over a salad, but you will not
see me sue Entenmann’s. I guess I should have seen it coming. First the
County Board of Supervisors in Santa Clara banned McDonald’s from
putting toys in its Happy Meals. Now comes the Center for Science in
the Public Interest sending a letter of intent to sue McDonald’s if the toys are not removed from all Happy Meals.
Stephen
Gardner, the center’s litigation director said "McDonald’s is the
stranger in the playground handing candy out to children." Are you
kidding me? He also went on to say that McDonald’s is undercutting
parental authority. Really? So these fast food giants are just coming
along and jamming Happy Meals down these kids throats behind their
parents’ backs.
Look
there is a serious obesity problem in this nation, but do not blame the
fast food companies. All of us have lessons to learn in personal
responsibility. Unfortunately, what’s being taught are not the right
lessons. We’re getting taught that if you’re fat, blame the fast food
restaurants that "forced" you to gobble calorie-rich burgers and fries,
if you’re benched in a crucial game, blame your coach or school, if you
fall in a supermarket, blame the store, and so on. Basically, we’re
being told "it’s not your fault – sue them all."
According
to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHS), fast food
may not even be the cause of most teen weight problems. As it turns
out, the couch potato phenomenon doesn’t just apply to adults. Data
from DHS shows only 20 percent of high school students are engaged in
moderate physical activity for at least 30 minutes a day.
Reforms
will help, but the problems with our out-of-control legal system will
not be resolved until we reform our way of thinking. We must teach our
children – by word and deed – that if you don’t eat right or exercise
it’s your fault and nobody elses. We must all change our way of
thinking – stop blaming others and accept responsibility for our
actions. That’s the most appropriate lesson in personal responsibility
for all of us.
So
let’s try and focus the debate on personal responsibility and some
daily exercise and not on suing. The only ones that will benefit from
litigation are the trial lawyers.