Point Counterpoint
Be Very Scared of Presidential Fitness
- Prezzie Fitness
Listen, trusting Social Workout faithful, don't be duped: You're the shock troops of fitness fascism. Possibly even eugenics. This didn't fully come into focus for me until Charity D.'s breathless tribute to the Federal goverment's Presidential Fitness Challenge woke me from my dogmatic slumber. Moments ago I was like you are now: Eager to live a more healthy life, and glad to have Michelle Obama merrily hula-hooping her way around the country to get us all off our fat rear ends. Then, suddenly, I was angry.
It was all well and good when the old, underfunded Presidential Fitness Test was targeted via pathetic laminated wall poster at our kids. (The little ones no longer grow up baling hay on the family farm, nor do they even drink milk and make believe they're killing Indians in the woods. No, they drink Pepsi in the TV room and twitch their thumbs for hours killing orks in World of Warcraft.) So yeah, I think we can all agree that a bit of command-and-control fitness is a good thing for people under the age of 12. But when the government starts to tell grownups to work out, well, that starts to be dangerous patriarchal, control-economy groupthink.
What could be wrong with awarding a gold medal here and there, you say? Nevermind that it makes us all feel like a bunch of castrated Wall-E freaks, and fails to note that we were born of rugged pioneer stock. Just play this scenario forward: What starts with a harmless gold medal ends with virtual physical activity monitoring, the creation of fitness hierarchies, and busy-body SS-style neighbor snooping. You think I'm exaggerating? No, I haven't looked closely at the program, but I understand there is a "Champions" program, and also an "Advanced Performance" category. It's one thing for Social Workout to post a leaderboard of your workouts, but do you really want to see your calorie count on WhiteHouse.gov? And all that's before you get to the even more sinister cultural problem of busy-body fitness-tracking neighbors. Suddenly you're a bad person if you're not doing the community stretch in the morning. (If I wanted to live in Japan, I'd have moved there in the 1970s when they first started killing us in the auto business.) How long will it be when some Obama-care architect decides that if the government is going to pay for our healthcare, it should issue us all nifty little Fitbit-like devices to keep track of our calorie burning?
A hyper fit populist First Couple is simply tiresome, but a faceless Federal agency empowered to gather an audit trail of every drop of American sweat in a giant governement database is unnerving. See where I'm going? You think the IRS is trouble, or the Bureau of Tobacco and Firearms or Homeland Security? Forget about it. It's a short step from innocent, hierarchical "Presidential Fitness" scheme to genetic testing for obesity. And then, hell, we've got full-on Aryan Nation, super-race maniacs running around organizing fitness Tea Parties.
Hey Federal Government: Stick to defending us from terrorists and yelling at Big Oil companies, and please get your bureaucracy out of my gym.
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Comments
When did Glenn Beck join SW?
Submitted by joesgirl on 07.02.10 at 12:06.
Sounds like you're just sour grapes about Charity's "marching."
Submitted by spindig on 07.02.10 at 01:15.
wow...i can't even believe what i just read.
Submitted by msh258 on 07.02.10 at 02:18.
Hey! Upon hearing about your post the darwinist survival of the fittest animal in me said "SO?!" to all your points. Then upon reading your conspiracy theory I had to say something.
Lately this attitude that everyone is a special individual snowflake whose weaknesses are just as important as it's strengths has made us into soft social media whores who have 800 friends that we barely know. I think that challenging people to get out of the house and strive to do things thta would normally be out of the point and click comfort zone that we have made for ourselves is a good thing. I think that the government spearheading such an initiative is a good thing. Lead from the front I say. Maybe our neighbors should take a little more responsibilty in making sure that we are taking care of ourselves and vice versa because god knows that personal responsibilty isn't working. Whenever a child goes wrong we blame the schools for not teaching them. (i.e. Jamie Olivers food revolution) when parents are just as guilty for putting bad food into their mouths and letting them reach level 80 on World of Warcraft in a few short weeks. They have said that it takes a village to raise a child. I think it takes a village to raise a village. What's wrong with making sure your friends and neighbors get outside? I'd rather run with them outside then throw out my back being their pallbearer.
So tell me what would you suggest? With the obesity rate as it is, with healthcare being as it is what is your plan for fixing it? This is a build a better mousetrap situation...we're all ears.
That being said this is all voluntary if you choose not to do it, cool. Nobody's forcing you. We'll just be there when you are ready. With healthy snacks, games and smiles. We're just leading from the front as it should have been all along. You can either pick up the ball and run with us...or not. This is still America.
Submitted by killercadoogan on 07.05.10 at 01:04.