Well, I can get behind that! Let's stop cancer before it starts, right? Let's avoid all of the biopsies and surgeries and chemotherapy and radiation and such. It would save us all a whole lot of stress, money and pain.
Who's with me? Okay, you can all put your hands down. You did all raise them, right?
Right?
Now follow my logic here. Cancer is caused by many things: behaviors like smoking, genes that we inherit through no fault of our own, environmental agents like radiation from nuclear testing, and on and on. Lots of things. Preventing cancer is a huge and complicated task. Maybe total prevention is ultimately impossible.
And yet, preventing whatever cancer we can in whatever way we can is huge when you think of the financial savings. Oh, you want cheaper medical insurance? Get rid of the need for cancer treatments. Oh, you want your companies to have healthy employees? Make sure no one is sick with cancer. Oh, you would rather your scientists work on things like space exploration? Cure cancer so they can work on something else.
Yes, what I just wrote makes it all sound so simple when it really isn't. Sorry for that.
But there are some things are just that simple. I mean, really.
Some things shouldn't require a masters degree in science to see the cause and effect. For example: does anyone argue that drinking contaminated water isn't bad for you? Does anyone disagree that smog is bad for breathing and causes things like asthma or lung cancer? Anyone vacation to Flint, Michigan lately?
These are basic cause and effect equations. If nasty stuff gets into your body, there's a strong likelihood that you're going to get sick. This isn't a political argument, folks, this is a little common sense mixed in with medicine. This isn't about being liberal or conservative. This is about keeping our citizens as healthy as possible. It's about making sure our children stay healthy. All of us, no matter our philosophies, can agree on that!
So why on earth would we decide that companies shouldn't be held accountable for the pollution they create? I mean, if you break it, you buy it, right? If my boys spill milk, I expect them to clean it up. I don't think being held responsible for your own actions and the results of those actions is bizarre.
We all hear complaints on social media about "kids these days" not having to be responsible for their choices. Well, so should business owners and boards of directors. You mess it up, you clean it up. Or find ways to avoid the mess in the first place.
I'm not saying we need to get rid of industry or manufacturing. These are important parts of our economy, providing resources and jobs. We certainly shouldn't go back to the "good old days" of a purely agricultural society. There's no way we could sustain our population. Energy production through fossil fuels, renewable sources and nuclear science are all needed (at this time) to fulfill society's needs, and for every advancement there has to be a conscious shift in educating workers and consumers in those advancements. We don't have coal delivered to our homes anymore. We don't have telephone operators connecting us. Changes like this mean old jobs and processes had to change in favor of new ones. This takes time. This takes investment.
This takes strategic planning and cooperation between political parties, labor, industry, scientists, teachers and everyone else to work together to say, "How do we balance the needs of health with economy? How do we protect our environment and provide work for families?" When only one group comes up with a plan, it will be flawed. Your extremists on both sides will lead to dystopia either way.
Get rid of the EPA? Sure. Better stock up on breathing filters and your chemotherapy drugs. Put the EPA in charge of all industry decisions? Better figure out how to keep companies from moving to countries without regulations.
It's called moderation, people. We've lost that.
Or have we?
February is Cancer Prevention Month. Just last month our elected officials managed to work together to pass a funding bill for research into curing cancer. I just can't see why they can't work together to find ways to prevent it, too. It would cost a whole lot less in the long run.
Rant over.
