President Elect Donald Trump has nominated Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (RFK Jr.) to become the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). RFK Jr. is probably most noted for his opposition to vaccinations. One of his other areas of interest is what he believes to be unhealthy foods.
Vaccination has been criticized because some believe it is linked to the increased incidence of various illnesses. A lot of effort has been put into debunking those concerns, but many people are still not convinced about the safety of some kinds of immunizations, especially as it applies to infants and young children. Time will tell. We need more longitudinal research to establish whether there is a need for limiting vaccinations.
I was in the first grade when the Salk polio vaccine became generally available. I vividly remember my mother taking me over to the school to get immunized. The syringe looked huge. Hypodermic needles then were dull by today’s standards, and it hurt. I couldn’t understand why my mom was so happy about it.
I’m 76 years old now. My hair all fell out when I was about 40, but I don’t think it was due to getting polio shots. Otherwise, I’m doing okay.
A governmental effort to make our diet healthier is not the thing that bothers me. The focus of it, however, is troubling.
The bad things that food manufacturers include in their products are there because they either make the food more convenient to use, appear more appetizing, or they make it taste better. If food is attractive, fast and easy to prepare, and more flavorful, then it sells better.
Like any other business, the food manufacturers want a reasonable return on investment for the money they spend making food available to us. That does not necessarily make them bad people. They are, however, cognizant of the fact that if they don’t offer a product people like, their competitors will. They will lose market share and earn less money; or possibly even go out of business.
Now, Ronald Reagan was correct. Government regulation of the lives of private citizens should be limited to preventing them from harming others. In short, Donald Trump is riding a wave of good will into the White House, but he will find that that tide will ebb quickly if he lets RFK Jr. tell the public what they can, or cannot eat and drink.
Perhaps Trump promised Kennedy a role in his administration if he would withdraw his candidacy for President and throw his support behind the former President. Who knows. Like other Democrats, however, RFK Jr. thinks the people are not competent to decide for themselves, and that he knows more than everyone else. He was raised in the political elite, and he is what he is.
Consequently, President Elect Trump must set some boundaries. RFK Jr. must be told that his job is to protect us from each other by taking reasonable measures to police the food manufacturers and importers – and not jerk the public around.
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