Is Obesity a Moral Failing

Many people say yes. Many of the medical profession seem to hold that opinion. All the obese need do is eat less, and there problem will go away. Bullshit is the only logical response.

Obesity is a miserable existence in many ways. It is less miserable than going through life with hunger and/or cravings that never go away. Many obese effectively choose to deep cycle, live with sufficient food to relieve the hunger/cravings, and then diet hard, fast, starve for a period of time. What else can we do? Many of us obese suffer from uncontrolled hunger and/or cravings that never go away.

I was recently at a "Ethics discussion", which resembled more one person stating the why's of atheistic morals, with the inference that his view was correct with "enlightened self interest" as the foundation. That is ok for him, but I doubt that the foundation for most people. We recently saw a Pew Research that showed a majority of religious people held their view because they want to be or though of as "good people", whatever that may be. I think that I believe closer to the Stoic like, that it is always right to do right, and that I desire to do right, because that is the way I was taught... there is that learned behavior part. The big question is what do we think "right" might be.

The Stoic natural life by virtue, with the cardinal virtues, prudence or self control, wisdom, courage and justice, without future hope, or past regret, in the now of today without guilt is appealing. If there is wrong done, it is not by me. Virtue is the primary good, vice the primary evil, and everything else indifferents. Knowing that the path to personal happiness and inner peace is through extinguishing all desires to have or affect things beyond ones control; and, through living in the present without hope for or fear of the future; beyond the power of opinions of others is also appealing.

It is like the question some seniors face, with the lost of motivation. Is it a loss of motivation, or just loss of need, loss of desire, or the realization that nobody but us cares anyway? Or why should we care what a nasty thinks. What about those who do things that just aggravate others, and just turn nasty if anything is said. It comes down the expected response is just nasty, why care? A bad relationship may be less valuable than no relationship. That need some more consideration.

So perhaps there is a big portion of self interest in any any decision we make, without much enlightened in the self interest. But under the cover of all this is an unspoken concept that our beliefs are right, without regard to reality, and all the obese needs to do is stop eating for a period of time. People are slow to change their opinions, if ever, and most of those opinions are biased or just wrong. Oh well, in the end we all just die anyway, even in an overpopulated world.

Ah, the new year

Once again we are in the season of diet commercials, and food company, and chain restaurants adds. Soon it will be roll up the rim. Oh well, in the end we all just die anyway. So we are being picked at for overeating enough to become fat, and at the same time pestered to eat more. Well at least there is Youtube that is clear of food adds... well sometimes.

So what is there for us old low energy people to do in the winter? Well we can study and learn something more that has little value in the real world, but it can keep us busy. We can evaluate our society, and find it lacking or economically unsustainable, but that is not of concern, because we will shuffle off this mortal coil before we plunge into the economic abyss, iff (if and only if) the rate of growth holds steady at the current rate of acceleration. Sounds like Hubble'c constant of economics. And then all life will end as the universe over the visual horizon in planer existence, so space, unlike the earth is flat. Ah yes. That is iff the climate change or Co2 rise does not get us first. It is a bleak outlook knowing the truth, something that the religious are unwilling to look at, for that would demonstrate there wholly books are wrong, or wronger. (or should that be holly books).

Judge not lest you be judged. But judgement is how we make decisions, so is it some judgements or all that they recommend we do not do? Without judgement, one cannot question. Without questioning, we would be submissive followers of the book. Not that is not correct, judge and leave the idiots behind. They have the right to live as they wish, as long as they do not interfere with how other want to live. Ah but any 'true' christian will tell you that the bible is right and gays have no rights, but that is imposing their beliefs on others, and that is wrong at a fundamental level. So there will always be conflict with christians, and muslims, and most religions. But all religions have this fundamentally wrong attitude... except for the buddhists who do not prothletise, you have to go to them or their books. 

The buddhists say right knowledge, but never get around to saying what that is. The Stoic`s provide  the tools to determine what is right and what is not, based on a few underlying and stated assumptions. And those who do not agree with the underlying assumptions can do as they like, but the Stoic system had so many solutions worked out... and those with family wealth and/or power were not happy, because the Stoics reasoned that power required servants or slaves, someone who feared or respected the powerful, and the Stoics saw the solution, no servitude, no fear, and respect to those who earned and maintained respect, not respect for a title. The true Stoic could not be cohered, but had to be lead by actions of the leader.

At the root was natural laws of freedom and equality, but with compassion for the downtrodden. Not forgives, but compassion and justice for all. The Stoics understand some things are up to us and some are not; we should not be held responsible for things that are not up to us, but we are responsible for what is within our control, but we must be ready to bring back into our control what we can. We have the right to walk away from bad actors and those who are yappy, have personalities of rusty buzz saws, and other forms of assholes. We may also choose to hang on them, for even assholes have uses.