PREVENTIVE MEDICINE

I want to start this posting by concentrating first of all on the subject of medicine. This is the medicinal element used to aid in healing or curing a sickness. Preventive therefore would be something you take prior to getting sick to help ensure you don't get sick.

At least that seems to be the thinking as far as I'm concerned. Not that I'm an expert on medicine, just more making an observation as it applies to my observations.

The interesting thing to me about preventive medicine is, no matter how well it works, that doesn't mean people are going to use it. Let's take the issue of things like diet and exercise. Those could be consider a form of preventive medicine. But I haven't noticed that this translates into everyone in the whole world joining a gym.

To the contrary, the last time I checked junk food manufacturers were hardly ready to file bankruptcy and there are still plenty of people running around shaped more like eggs than hour glasses. What is my point to all of this? Basically, I suppose it is the reality that in order for something to be a realistic form of preventive medicine it has to be something we will actually use.

And what is the driving force in determining if we will actually use a given form of prevention? I think to me it is whether or not we feel we are genuinely at risk if we don't use the option. Without that key ingredient if the prevention requires pain or sacrifice then forget it.

Am I being too cruel in that regard? I don't think so. I feel I'm just accepting that we are all prone to a given vantage point in terms of philosophy.

As a politician I'm totally aware of this fact. Which is why I never offer up any forms of preventive social medicine that sound the least bit painful.

Thus I'm not going to promise that my city is going to implement some new system for helping people that will cost a bundle in new taxes to achieve. I might as well point a gun to my head and say pull the trigger.

Instead, I try to keep things general and relatively vague. Oh I can embellish on the hope element. That is easy to accomplish. As long as I don't put in terms of this will cost you this amount extra in tax dollars will not make it popular.

Of course in the most ideal of situations what I strive for in terms of preventive medicine is that kind that prevents my bankbook from having a serious bout of red ink. So that means a preventive medicine that others think will is good for them, but in the end doesn't require me to actually change anything.

Meanwhile I get to add some new taxes in a way that I can dump them into my own bank balance. That is the kind of medicine that really goes down sweet when I get to swallow it. Not sure I care how it tastes to others.