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Pick on somebody your own size!

After he wouldn’t let Toby Keith sing all of the words to “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue” on his program, I decided that his patriotism was of a lesser degree than mine. When he hosted an hour news magazine program earlier this month linking our nation’s obesity problem to the federal farm program, I decided that Peter Jennings was desperate for “news” topics.
I am a journalist. I know that there are always at least 2 sides to every story. In this column, you get my editorial view, but when doing news, we reporters should keep our editorial views to ourselves. When doing news, you should select expert resources on each side of the issue to interview. Apparently, Mr. Jennings sees himself as an expert on fat, farmers and obesity. The spin of his “news” story was that the government pays farmers too much, so they grow too much. Because they grow too much, our food is so cheap that we eat too much and become fat.
For months now, the fast food restaurants have been blamed for our expanding waistlines. Now, apparently, my parents, their parents, and all of those generations of hard-working farm families leading up to mine have had a hand in making us a rolly-polly society.
Considering the litigious nature of the society in which we live, how soon will it be before a greedy super-sized individual decides to sue you for growing corn?
Apparently, the main culprit in this plot by farmers to make us obese is high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) used as a sweetener in processed foods.
Give me a break! We are an obese society because we fail to practice moderation! My Great Grandma McCullah ate bacon and eggs for breakfast every day of her life. She baked with lard and fried everything from sweet potatoes to pies. Poor thing, she only lived to be 103. She rode horses, mowed her yard, walked at least a mile every day, and washed her own windows until she was almost 90-years old. She had this theory that you can eat anything that you want to eat as long as you stay active and keep your mind engaged.
It is true, The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has declared obesity the top health issue in America. It estimates that 15 percent of children are overweight. I personally believe that if all of these overweight kids stepped away from the television (sorry Peter) and spent some time running and playing, they could drop a few inches.
If we are fat, it is our own darned fault. Peter, pick on somebody your own size.