Monday, August 10, 2009

Blame It On Mickey D's...Or What Happened to Personal Responsibility?!

So,

I just finished watching a two year old documentary on McDonald's where the US division was vilified for creating fattening foods that encourages obesity in children and everyone else who opts to eat at McDonalds. So...I found it interesting how many of the "obesity experts" were: 1. obese themselves (I guess that proves that they're an expert) or 2. refusing to blame parents for poor parenting skills...

So...I have to put this out there. Yes - McDonald's sells tons of "bad-for-you" food with a dash of "fake-good-for-you" food sprinkled in there too. However, there's such a thing as personal responsibility. Rather than bitching about how McDonald's sells bad food, how about complaining about how parents are such poor parents nowadays? Case in point: at one point in the documentary, a mother is quoted as saying (and I'm paraphrasing here) "We go to McDonald's at least 2x a week because little Joey (*name change) screams and cries until we go". Okay, now...if I had acted like that when I was little...I definitely wouldn't have been rewarded with a Happy Meal! Last time I checked, Mickey D's wasn't so starved for business that they were stealing children from the playground and force feeding them Happy Meals. :-/ So shame on the mom for being so weak kneed as not to be able to tell her child no!

But this goes hand in hand with the whole "pass the buck" mentality of this country. No one wants to take responsibility for driving (or walking) to McDonald's, eating crappy food, and bypassing the gym and any attempt at healthy living. It's much easier to complain and point the finger because your @$$ follows you around corners.

Sigh...well I for one don't intend to blame others for anything in my life unless there's real blame to place on someone. My eating and health choices are my own responsibility. And whenever I decide to have children, it'll be my responsibility (and their father's ) to install healthy eating and exercise habits.

Okay...that's my random rant for the month. :-) Comments, questions or random musings? Feel free to leave me a note!