I think that health is a personal responsibility not a government issue. The government promotes healthy living, which is a good thing, but with obesity rates on the rise we need to work harder towards a healthier society. Unfortunately government is not helping to diminish the growing obesity problem. First Lady Michelle Obama has taken on a noble effort to fight childhood obesity rates but it will not work. As someone who has spent time focusing on a healthy life style it takes education. Through out my life and up to high school I was relatively healthy and at a healthy weight. After I graduated though I gained an enormous amount of weight and finally after a few years decided to change it. I spent the time learning what foods and food groups were good for me. I took the initiative to get healthy and fight obesity. I fought cheap, unhealthy foods and changed my life. Unfortunately this does not happen often and I blame lack of education. The government is the main source of misinformation when it comes to food. They teach through the food pyramid/food plate that we need to maintain a higher balance of carbohydrates and lower balance of protein than what our bodies really need. This information is passed onto school-aged kids who learn improper eating techniques from a young age. School foods, while they are improving, still have a high amount of sugar and carbohydrates. Proper eating techniques must be taught at a young age but to do this we need to fight the misinformation machine that is the government and big food. It’s easy to eat healthy and cheap but it is time consuming, but with education on how to be healthy, eat healthy and live healthy many people will change their lives for the better. The Affordable Health Care Act has some provisions in it that are beneficial to all American’s. The need for health insurance in this country is high because our current medical system is expensive. However, forcing people to buy health care is not the right solution. Americans always have been and always will be of a “free” mind sight. Forcing them to anything makes them feel like they are losing their fundamental right and American’s will never fully accept a government run national healthcare system. I think rather than forcing people to buy healthcare the government should focus on regulations that protect citizens from harmful policies.
Crime is an issue that affects all of us and we must work together to stop it. Unfortunately I think some policemen can make crime situations worse because of their actions. Firefighters put their lives on the line every day, same as cops, and never show boat the way cops do. I have had more than one cop say something to me along the lines of “I am the law” and this is dangerous. People are leery of cops because of this, we are a nation of laws and for a few people to think that they are above it is dangerous. If we had police that we could respect that fought crime and weren’t corrupted, our nation would be in a much better place. I also think recent legislation in Arizona to put guns on campuses is more harmful than anything. If somebody were able to make it on to ASU’s campus with a gun and start shooting you would have students that would try to be a hero’s. This would make it harder for campus police to determine whom the true suspect was and could lead to more innocent life lost. I feel that we have a right to have guns in this country but prohibiting guns in certain places does not take away any freedoms.
