By Chris Basten

  Back in the early-to-mid-nineties, McDonald's ran an annoying slogan and jingle entitled "Food, Folks, and Fun." It promoted the joys of eating fast food with family and friends. Such a promotion would never make it to the airwaves nowadays. Obesity regulation is in full swing with hopes of slimming down the massive masses.

McDonald's, the most visible guinea pig, has recently been "persuaded" by government's anti-obesity campaign to drop their super sized menu. It apparently has never occurred to politicians that people who want more fries, whether they are super sized or not, can always order more than just one serving. That's innovative government thinking for you, though.

Health and Human Services Secretary [a brilliant use of tax dollars], Tommy Thompson, has declared that, "Americans are literally eating themselves to death." Since when did Tommy Thompson become the expert on dietary habits? Why does this doughboy get to tell us what we can and cannot eat? He is not exactly etched out of stone and could stand to lose a few pounds himself. Politicians are well known for attending fancy lobbying dinners with rich, fattening food all over the world. Why do they get to indulge while we are forced to nibble on smaller, overpriced portions?

The answer is simple. The government knows that there isn't enough money in the world to cover the medical costs of treating the problems and health hazards associated with being human. In the midst of socializing medicine in a so-called democracy, politicians are staring at the trillions of dollars that will be required to take care of everyone. Because health care is, and always has been, an astronomical expense, the government sees the need to control everyone's lifestyle to keep these costs down. If it has to rely on calling us the most obese nation in the world, it will do so. It will even distort research findings to promote its invasive agenda.

The media reports this insidious behavior as something that our citizens deserve. The mainstream press devotes endless energy in promoting America as a land of irresponsible children trapped in chubby adult frames. They show pictures and video clips of large human frames waddling around with a chicken drumstick in each hand as if to confirm that everyone is this indulgent and impulsive with food. It provokes an emotional response in a naïve audience. The message is that obese people, not the despicable forces of government, are driving up the costs of medical treatment. This allows the federal vultures to swoop in and regulate the nutritional content, prices, and taxation of everything from KFC's cole slaw to the potato chips in your cupboard.

To celebrate the dawn of a slimmer America, these hypocrites will go to the finest banquets in the world and devour the most fattening of meals (all with our hard-earned tax dollars, of course). It reminds me of the pastor who sermonizes militantly against sexual sin in front of his Sunday morning congregants and then goes home to watch pornography thereafter. Both find merit in limiting the very things in others that they, themselves, enjoy. This is how absolute power corrupts absolutely.

The link above, from CNN, makes use of consumer-friendly words like, "Defining what it means…"; "Encouraging restaurants…"; "Boosting research into obesity…" Notice that the real meaning behind these words is shrouded in verbiage that sounds like choice but actually strays far from it. If the media outlets were honest, they would substitute these words with "forcing," for this is what federal regulators do. They do not encourage or persuade, nor do they boost research. They shake money at and coerce projects into existence.

Like all government projects, good intentions and public support give birth to several sexy-sounding ideas that promote regulations meant to improve everyone's quality of life. What is always ignored is the use of compulsion to get people to do things they normally wouldn't do. You cannot force a person to get into shape or eat healthy if they don't want to. It doesn't work with children and it sure won't work with adults.

The government thinks otherwise. If Tommy Thompson says we are eating ourselves to death, something must be done about it. So government gets involved to the detriment of individuals and businesses that harm no one. They implore the FDA to force businesses and restaurants to more clearly label what most people already pay no attention to. We're hungry; therefore we eat. We know cheeseburgers aren't good for us but we like them. It is our choice if we want to devour fat and grease (and have a smoke, thereafter, if that is our pleasure).

I cannot fathom how bureaucrats can continue to advertise our brand of government as a democracy because it sure looks like socialism to me. When an entourage of force dressed in suits and ties tells us that they are going to fight public obesity, we know that they have too much time and power on their hands. The enormity of Washington should be trimmed down, not individuals who freely choose to super size their fries and drink.

In Part 2, I will expose how the government's good intentions always turn into more and more ridiculous modes of policing innocent people and serves no one but lobbyists and supporters of Big Government. It may prove hard to digest.