As I was sitting at work, bored out of my mind as usual, one of my friends sent me a link to a NY Times article about recent events in Japan. Apparently, Japan has decided to institute a law saying that local governments and companies have to actually MEASURE people’s waist sizes! I guess it was put into effect a couple months ago, but we are hearing about it now. As part of the annual check-up, Japanese men and women between the ages of 35-74 have to have their waists measured. The standard which they are measured against is what the International Diabetes Foundation has considered healthy for Japan. For men, waistlines should be no more than 33.5″ and for women, 35.4″. But wait, it gets better. If after 3 months, the offenders are still over “government limits” and have a weight-related problem, they will be “steered” to further re-education about weight loss over the following 6 months. AND, according to this US News article, if companies can’t slim down their employees, they face higher payments into the national health insurance.
WTF?!
Are you kidding me?! “Hello, Big Brother? Japan is calling, they want to come over for dinner and have a nice long visit.”
Apparently, because of the national health care system, which covers the Japanese either through their employers or through a public health system, the government can pass laws like this without much opposition. Even critics of the law don’t call out it’s blatant Big Brother attitude, but the fact that it’s not necessary. They say that maybe it would be necessary in a country like the US where there are many Americans who weigh 220 pounds (!) but not Japan.
There are so many things wrong with this bit of news, I almost can’t process them all. The best way I think is to make a list and then see if I can address all of them.
- Big Brother attitudes
- National Health Care
- The slight against US health
- The seemingly little opposition to this law
- A trend for the future?
So let’s start with #1 (my favorite). Here’s the thing: socialism can be basically equated to Big Brother. Whether or not you want to admit it, socialism is where a few ”experts” decide what is best for the population at large – with healthcare, it is decided for you if a medical treatment is appropriate, and apparently, it is decided how big of a waist you should have. Socialism takes basic privileges and rights, afforded to you in a democracy, and puts those rights in the hands of someone else because you don’t know better or enough to make your own decisions. It’s as if the country is a family, and the government is your parents deciding what you should and should not do because it’s “best for you”. It’s most certainly where Europe is, and apparently Japan. Communist China is much more extreme (you know, their law where families can have only one baby?). Socialism is certainly where the US is headed, especially if Obama wins this year. But I digress. The fact of the matter is, soon, we will be told what we can and cannot eat because it’s bad for us – oh wait, that’s already started too with the banning of Trans Fats. Whether or not you agree with it, it’s still Big Brother.
#2 – Socialist health care. This one sends shivers down my back. Here we go. I’m against socialized medicine. Why? Well, I think the US is too big to have a good system for socialized medicine and if you go by state, then you will have mass migrations to the states with better healthcare (ie the wealthier states). Also, where do you think the money comes from to pay for drug and cancer research? Hmm? And where do you think that money would go if we gave everyone “free” healthcare? Hello. . . common sense is knocking. . . a little reminder – nothing in life is free, we all have to pay for it somehow. Obviously, everyone should have access to affordable healthcare. Making it free is just idiotic.
The third point is this slight against the US. I wanted to comment on it because it really just highlights how little the rest of the world thinks of Americans. And how apparently everyone is over 200 lbs. Don’t get me wrong, America is most certainly fat and it is definitely an epidemic. But really, do people HAVE to call attention to it all the time? I mean, of course there’s a problem, I’ll be the first to admit it, but for once, leave Americans out of arguments that have nothing to do with us.
The last two issues can be tied together. As far as I can tell, there has been little opposition in Japan to this law, but hopefully I’m wrong in thinking that, and maybe it just hasn’t been reported. Either way, other countries could get the idea to do this and soon anywhere with socialized medical care could consider passing a similar law. The lack of opposition could be seen as support and genius politicians may want to try it out in their countries. It terrifies me that this may become a new trend in healthcare.
I’m sorry, but I don’t care what kind of healthcare a country has, the government has ABSOLUTELY NO RIGHT to tell you what to do with your body. If you want to be 500 lbs, that’s your right to do so. It’s extremely selfish, because then someone is going to have to take care of you and your fat, but it’s still your right as a person. I mean, does it go the other way? Will you be sanctioned for being too thin? Being too thin can cause as many health problems as obesity. When does it stop?
