In these times of war, no matter what station you are watching on television or listening to on the radio, most of what you hear is about the situation in Iraq. We have heard countless reports on Saddam Hussein and his regime, the torture chambers they have found, the continued search for deadly chemical weapons, the inhumanities he bestowed upon his people, and the constant fear that they lived in. Fueled by anger, fear, and dreadful memories of 9/11, we wave our flags proudly and pray for our troops as they go on to fight for freedom.Though the situation in Iraq is most alarming, the on-going battles here in the United States seem to hold my attention even more. Most of you may not realize the severity of the war that we ourselves have been fighting for years and will continue to fight probably forever. Unfortunately as of now, we are being defeated, and our casualties are too many to count.
In America, more than eight million people suffer from anorexia, bulimia, and other eating disorder related illnesses. That is more than three percent of the population. Due to the fact that doctors are not required to report cases of illness resulting from eating disorders, and many people are in denial about their illness, that number is not completely accurate and could be much worse. Of those eight million plus people suffering, up to 20 percent of them die. That is over 1,600,000 deaths a year (the deaths from 9/11 multiplied by 320). The majority of those victims are females between the ages of 10 and 21.
These statistics are devastating, yet they will increase year after year, and the victims are getting younger and younger. Our own reality is harsh. We are not allowed to grow up healthy, happy, and proud of ourselves. Our success and our accomplishments are overshadowed by the size of our jeans. Beauty is represented by rail-thin, half-starved super models. Magazines continue to glamorize celebrities that portray unrealistic images of perfection.
Pageants designed to reward young women for their intelligence and service to the community require that they first be able to wear a bikini and walk across a stage in three-inch pumps. We all tune in faithfully every week to “American Idol” to be entertained by an arrogant man, who makes a fortune telling talented, confident, beautiful young women, they need to lose weight. Schools are going as far as to send letters home to overweight children. We are being terrorized.
We spend hundreds of thousands of dollars creating and mass marketing fad diets, and exercise routines/equipment. We willingly consume millions of milligrams of dangerous “miracle” drugs (weapons of mass destruction) linked to panic attacks, faint spells, heart attacks, and even death.
We continue to condemn Saddam and other rogue leaders of third world countries entangled in civil war, but we are well on our way to recreating the holocaust right here.