In North Carolina a little four year old girl was packed a turkey and cheese sandwich, apple, juice, banana, and chips for lunch, but the school officials told the little girl that her lunch did not meet school standards so the school made her buy chicken nuggets and eat them. I am not making this up. (Here is the full story http://www.nccivitas.org/2012/state-inspectors-searching-childrens-lunch-boxes-this-isnt-china-is-it/) Since when did the school system and government decide what was healthy and proper to eat? Remember these are the same people that said french fries and pizza were acceptable sources to receive one’s daily vegetable servings. Also, this little girl was not the only person searched by the school officials. Every kid at the state funded NC Pre-K has to have an acceptable lunch or the school makes the kid buy an acceptable lunch. The government making four year olds buy an “acceptable” lunch is insane.
President Obama and all progressive liberals in this nation want the government to tell people how to live, what to eat, and how to think. They want us, the American people, to just take the back seat while they socially engineer America, and we are supposed to believe they have our best interest in mind because they are experts and part of the government. I hate the phrase “the government should fix it.” WHY!? Why should the government have to fix anything at all? Yes, it’s important to have core institutions in our society (police, fire departments, etc). However, why should we trust the government to fix anything at all? The government is trying to fix childhood obesity and in order to do so, the FDA has imposed nutrition mandates on public schools to make sure lunches are “healthy.” Remember these are the same people that said students can get their daily serving of vegetables from french fries and pizza. Also, to combat obesity, the FDA named sugar a toxic drug and the FDA is going to start to mandate how much sugar can be in any substance. A turkey sandwich, fruit, chips, and juice is a healthy lunch and more healthy than cafeteria chicken nuggets. Anyone else starting to see the conundrum of government bureaucracy? Anyone else also think their rights are being infringed upon?
What I believe makes us Americans is that we have the freedom to choose. We can choose where we go to school, what news station we listen too, what newspaper we read, what music we listen too, who we want to vote for, etc. So for the government to tell us what food we can eat, how much sugar we can ingest, and, along the lines of another news story, tell Catholic hospitals they have to provide something that goes against their beliefs is an infringement on our rights and is unconstitutional. I believe I know what is nutritious and healthy for me better than any bureaucrat in Washington. “Now Jake you are not a good sample for the average American. What about the people who do not know what is nutritious and neglect their bodies?” Are you saying there are people who do not know how to help themselves and need the government to provide for them? Ok. I agree there are some people who were never taught nutrition and do not have the first clue on what is healthy for them. However, back to one of my main questions, why should the government have to help them? Why not help your fellow American or Google nutritious food? 83% of Americans have access to the internet (69% mobile access). We have the world at our fingertips, let’s use it. Now for the other 17% that does not have access to the information, how do we help them? Well we could either mandate that their schools make them eat nutritious lunches (that really are not that nutritious), or we can teach them about nutrition and give them healthy choices to eat. You decide.
Please know that the government is full of corrupt officials who get wined and dined to make legislation for a specific special interest group, and make back door deals and promises like salamander crossings to get it done. So why trust an immoral institution to take on the moral issues of obesity, abortion, the death penalty, healthcare, etc.? Also why trust an institution whose workers are unmotivated because they get paid the same amount no matter how hard they work, and the only time they work overtime is during their last year so they can collect a bigger pension? Also, why trust an institution that can go $15 trillion in debt? When the government tries to fix America’s problems, it institutes mandates and laws. Mandates and laws restrict our personal freedoms. What does not restrict our personal freedoms is when Americans help other fellow Americans or when private institutions do charity work. “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.”-JFK