Michelle Obama Wants You Know Her Government Group Isn’t About The Government Telling You What To Do
I’m sensing a big of cognitive dissonance in this Newsweek column by Michelle Obama in which she says that her new government group focusing on childhood obesity isn’t about the government telling you what to do.
Except that it is. Pretty much.
This isn’t something we can fix with a bill in Congress or an executive order from the president. I’ve spoken with many experts about this issue, and not a single one has said that the solution to childhood obesity is to have the government tell people what to do.
Instead, it’s about what all of us can do to help our kids lead active, healthy lives: parents making healthier choices for their families; mayors and governors doing their part to build healthier cities and states; and the private sector doing its part as well—from food manufacturers offering healthier options to retailers understanding that what’s good for kids and families can be good for businesses too.
So, how are mayors and governors going to build healthier cities and states without the government telling us how to live our lives? How does the private sector “do its part” without pressure from government?
I’m all for eating healthier. In fact, it’s something I should do in my personal life. But Michelle Obama spending millions of our tax dollars on a government effort to dictate healthier lifestyles to us, while simultaneously telling us that it isn’t about the government telling us what to do, strains credulity.
It is about the government telling us how to live our lives. That’s the whole point.
Frankly, I think the obesity stuff is overblown. It’s not good to be fat, but how wonderful to live in times that are so prosperous our problem isn’t with starving to death but eating too much. And, frankly, if Americans wanted to be skinny they could eat less and exercise more.
If they want to be fat, then they should be allowed to be fat and it’s really none of the government’s business.
