The harm we cause ourselves
June 15th 2008 02:15
Back from my impromptu hiatus and still on my last, sobering topic of bad health, I've returned to Blogland to highlight the damage we do to ourselves.
We start with a story I saw on the news a few days ago (clearly I'm a world leader when it comes to current affairs) about the deafening impact loud music of the mp3 and concert variety are having on our inner ear (that right, we all have one, collective, inner ear). It seems that 60% of us listen to music at unsafe levels *guilty* and by some year, 1/4 will need hearing aids. I'm not saying 1/4 will have hearing aids, just that we will require them. Now I strongly suspect that I'm in the danger zone for this, but I don't care. Have campaigns, show me ear dissections, tell me of the damage I'm causing through passive listening, it won't stop me- and I don't think it will stop any of my comrades in the headphone army either.
And how about smoking? Because I myself am not a chimney, I needed to venture into the smoky and smelly dens of friends that are and ask them if the current anti-smoking campaigns are having an effect on them. Well, no, but apparently one friend feels sorry for the young children that have to see human organs being hacked apart so that we can see the crap that builds up inside them. Apart from that however, no smoker I know is interested in quitting due to personal health concerns. Hmm, maybe if I show my findings to the government, they'll stop funding the anti-smoking campaign and put that money into fighting domestic violence and child pornography. Novel, I know...
And as I'm typing this I'm guzzling my way through a bottle of Pepsi (but my music is at moderate decibels out of consideration for my neighbours). So what's in Pepsi? Stuffed if I can be bothered reading the label, but what for that matter, is in carrots, sheep or pizza? Who knows and who cares... until you're dying of some inexplicable disease.
The point is; we don't particularly care or think about our well being until it goes away and is replaced by a respirator and a dialysis machine. Ah well, bottoms up!
We start with a story I saw on the news a few days ago (clearly I'm a world leader when it comes to current affairs) about the deafening impact loud music of the mp3 and concert variety are having on our inner ear (that right, we all have one, collective, inner ear). It seems that 60% of us listen to music at unsafe levels *guilty* and by some year, 1/4 will need hearing aids. I'm not saying 1/4 will have hearing aids, just that we will require them. Now I strongly suspect that I'm in the danger zone for this, but I don't care. Have campaigns, show me ear dissections, tell me of the damage I'm causing through passive listening, it won't stop me- and I don't think it will stop any of my comrades in the headphone army either.
And how about smoking? Because I myself am not a chimney, I needed to venture into the smoky and smelly dens of friends that are and ask them if the current anti-smoking campaigns are having an effect on them. Well, no, but apparently one friend feels sorry for the young children that have to see human organs being hacked apart so that we can see the crap that builds up inside them. Apart from that however, no smoker I know is interested in quitting due to personal health concerns. Hmm, maybe if I show my findings to the government, they'll stop funding the anti-smoking campaign and put that money into fighting domestic violence and child pornography. Novel, I know...
And as I'm typing this I'm guzzling my way through a bottle of Pepsi (but my music is at moderate decibels out of consideration for my neighbours). So what's in Pepsi? Stuffed if I can be bothered reading the label, but what for that matter, is in carrots, sheep or pizza? Who knows and who cares... until you're dying of some inexplicable disease.
The point is; we don't particularly care or think about our well being until it goes away and is replaced by a respirator and a dialysis machine. Ah well, bottoms up!
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