In order to make my essay better, I need to add more detail to my argument as suggested by my classmates. I plan to develop the opposition to the junk food tax a little more and include another reason why the tax would not be detrimental to citizens’ paychecks. I will elaborate my definition of obesity in order to make clearer what is classified as obese. I also need to tailor the ending to fit more in the Rogerian style by combining the opposing view of the tax with ways the promoting side sees advantageous. By the time my essay is complete it will be longer and more persuasive towards installing a tax on junk food!
Monthly Archives: April 2014
Fight the Fat
Most people around the globe would agree that the United States of America has a serious problem when it comes to over-eating. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, one out of every three Americans is obese, or has a much greater amount of body fat than is considered healthy for a given weight (CDC). In 2008, twelve percent of the world’s adults aged twenty and above were considered to be obese (World Health Organization). The United States’ population more than doubles Earth’s average fat rate, and we do not have to search far to find the culprits. A combination of lack of exercise and excessive food intake contribute enormously to this country’s unhealthy status, and not much has been done to fight it. Luckily, there is one solution that can combat the fat factor of the U.S. along with the rest of the world’s perception of its citizens’ health: raising taxes on junk food.
Now, I know what comes to mind whenever a new tax is discussed: the government already taxes everything in the country; adding another one will only take more money away from citizens. Not all citizens could afford to live with a junk food tax anyway; most people in the lower socioeconomic status depend on the low costs of junk food to feed themselves and their families. The United States does not need the government to tell it what it can and cannot consume, for junk food is after all, food, and people cannot live without sustenance. I cannot argue with the validity of the idea that taxing junk food is not ideal for certain groups of people in the country. Even more, the purpose of combatting obesity would not entirely help, for obesity is caused by a lack of portion control, exercise, and genetics as well. The mere task of deciding what to tax is in itself extremely difficult, and it would be hard to get congressmen to agree on a list of millions of items considered to fit in the junk food category.
However, we can endeavor to define what fits under ‘junk food.’ Webster’s Dictionary defines junk food as “food that is high in calories but low in nutritional value,” (Webster’s Dictionary). This rather broad description can be narrowed down even further to include foods that are high in fat, sugar, sodium, and empty calories. When the ‘calories from fat’ count significantly bypasses the “good stuff,” like nutritional calories, protein, and vitamins, the food definitely cannot be considered healthy. Foods like these unarguably fit perfectly into the junk food category.
The word ‘tax’ has negative connotations wherever it appears, simply because people do not want to give away any more of their hard-earned income, and especially when it goes to paying for the welfare of people who do not work hard and take care of themselves. Ultimately, money included in the junk food tax would still end up in the Medicare fund, but the tax itself would fight the amount of people who require such heavy bills to be paid by the public. The junk food tax increases prices on unhealthy food, ideally pushing consumers to purchase healthier options. When people eat the healthier foods, obesity rates will lower and theestimated annual medical cost of obesity in the U.S. of $147 billion dollars (CDC) will drop significantly. Think about it, even if the obesity rate were to drop by just ten percent due to the junk food tax, the United States and taxpayers as a whole will save almost fifteen billion dollars per year.
Installing a junk food tax on the United States would contribute to many other benefits as well as tax dollars spent on useful projects rather than obesity healthcare. The country would be healthier, and not just the people who spend less on junk food. When obesity is combated, production in the workplace is increased, for workers with obesity do not function physically as well as people with healthier bodies, so companies around the nation would see increased labor. Stores and fast food restaurants would see a change if their products were taxed more, but they would also be forced to introduce healthier options available for purchase. With a new high demand for healthier food, production of healthy nutrition would increase tenfold, resulting in lowered prices for what was before the most expensive food on the market. With the prices of fatty and nutritional foods reversed, all classes of U.S. society would have available to them the nutrition that they need to flourish, fitting the needs of budget-families across the nation.
When an option to boost a person’s health arises, and it does not require much work, it would be foolish for the person to continue living as they were. It is the same with a country; the United States is in dire need of a diet, and when the simple solution of placing a tax on the very items that harm the country’s health is so easily within reach, why should we not try it?
Ethical Argument, Stop the Driving Ban
His Majesty Abdullah bin Abdulaziz
King
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
April 11, 2014
Re: Ending Band on Female Driving
Your Majesty:
I write to you today on behalf of the organization Amnesty International to implore you and your government to examine the impunities set upon women in your country and to make sufficient progress towards justifying the grievances against them, particularly in the area of driving.
Amnesty International is a global movement of people fighting injustice and promoting human rights around the world. With active organizations in over 150 countries and territories, we promote peace and justice through campaigning against the terrible wrongs against universally accepted standards of human rights.
It has recently come to our attention that civil movements have increasingly been occurring in your country regarding the ban on female drivers. Protestors who started movements such as the October 26 Women Driving Campaign have been arrested and prohibited from further public expression. These protestors realize that though female driving is not against the law in Saudi Arabia, the act of female driving will still result in the arrest of women who commit the offense.
In Saudi Arabia, one of the many patriarchal rules in place is that women are not allowed to drive vehicles. If a woman was to venture out in a car the police would arrest her, her legal guardian would be called, and they would both have to sign pledges stating that the incident will never happen again.
There are several human rights issues apparent in this case. Aside from the required male guardian for all women, our main argument today is with the ban on female driving. One of the mainstream human rights accepted globally is that men and women are created equal, therefore they should have equal rights. Women should be free to make their own decisions just like men, and they should have the same opportunities available in society. However, we realize that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia does not accept the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, so not all of its principles apply to your country’s citizens.
Even so, there are many reasons besides equality that female driving would benefit your country. If women were allowed to drive, men would have much more time to conduct their own business. Instead of driving their wives to pick up groceries, to go to the doctor, and to other necessary places, the men could work on their own tasks. Since there are no public transportation systems, right now it is impossible for women to get anywhere by themselves. In addition to transporting them to stores and appointments, men also have to drive women to schools in the case where women are getting educations. As we understand, education is important for everyone in your country, and the literacy rate is steadily increasing. If women could drive themselves to class, they would take up less of their guardians’ time, making life easier for everybody.
Another case of beneficial female driving is when men require immediate medical attention. If a man needed to go to the hospital and was incapable of driving himself, he would be stuck at home if there were no other men around to help him. If women were allowed to drive, the ill man could simply have a women drive him to get help, or she could drive to find him help.
If women were allowed to drive by the law enforcement in Saudi Arabia, the benefits would reach everybody in the community. Daily business could be conducted more efficiently, and traditional social norms could still be followed. A woman behind the wheel does not violate any government policy nor Islamic value as stated by Your Majesty and other leaders alike, so why not allow them to drive when there are so many great benefits to be had than what your country experiences at the present?
Sincerely,
Brenna Graham
Amnesty International
Peaceful Plants?
“A garden is a delight to the eye and a solace for the soul,” (Sadi). When people bring up the subject of gardening, the first image that pops into my mind is one of a little old lady holding her spade outside, smiling and surrounded by beautiful petunias and sunlight. My next thought is, why would she, or anyone else for that matter, want to sit on the hard ground for hours and get covered in dirt and sweat only to have her plants die within weeks? There are many people who share my skepticism of gardening, but there are just as many who, like Sadi, fully believe that the act of gardening can spread a blanket of complete tranquility over those who participate in it. Despite the obvious dirty work involved in gardening, could it be true that caring for plants really does promote inner peace?
On the quest for answers, my search results immediately led to the discovery of horticultural therapy. “Today, horticultural therapy is accepted as a beneficial and effective therapeutic modality [that] is widely used within a broad range of rehabilitative, vocational, and community settings,” (AHTA). Institutions all over the world use horticultural therapy as a way to help people with both mental and physical disabilities and trauma find a road to recovery. The participants nurture plants in gardens specifically laid out for easy gardening and stress relief. In one study by the University of Hyogo in Japan, researchers found that the physical actions of therapeutic gardening stimulate areas of the brain such as sensory-motor areas and association areas, leading to improvement of damaged brain function in patients who suffer from cerebrovascular diseases (Mizuno-Matsumoto). Patients like these along with those who suffer from cardiovascular disease, dementia, anxiety, depression, and many others experience the same gardening therapy. Their work, though at times difficult, leads to healing and relaxation in most cases.
Although horticultural therapy is a proven treatment that heals patients, not everyone who has found peace in gardening suffers from professionally diagnosed cases. Everyday people in cities across the globe sustain gardens that range from simple potted lilies to large vegetable patches. When asked about peaceful gardening, local Oklahoman Rebecca Ballard said, “there’s just something about putting seeds in the ground and watching them grow; it makes you feel so good inside, and a sort of tranquil feeling sets in over everything,” (Ballard). In her history of gardening, Rebecca has successfully harvested vegetables in her backyard including squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, red and green peppers, carrots, and potatoes. She says, “even though you get dirty, the hard work pays off in the end,” (Ballard).
In order to further my understanding of exactly how peaceful plants can seem, I decided to visit the Myriad Botanical Gardens in downtown Oklahoma City. My two-hour visit to the indoor sanctuary indeed resulted in a greater appreciation to those who garden, for the entire greenhouse-esque building omitted the most powerful sense of nature I had felt in a very long time. Every glass wall was covered in vegeatation from top to bottom, and my short walk among the beautiful greenery alone instilled an incredible calmness in me for the remainder of the day. Walking through the beauty and dynamism of nature reminded me that there are greater things at work in the universe than humans, which humbled me significantly. I came to the realization that the people who work so hard to achieve the awe of the Myriad Gardens must truly gain harmony with the world and themselves after experiencing the gardens they helped to bloom.
My last attempt to discover the peace of gardening led me to purchase a plant and see if I could achieve the tranquility everyone seems to be talking about from watching it grow. For four weeks now I have been caring for an aloe vera plant that lives in my room at OCU. Even though aloe plants do not require much maintenance, I enjoy being around it. I water it every Wednesday, and already its color has gone from a sickly slightly brown to a vibrant bright green. Knowing that I helped a living thing to recover from illness made me incredibly happy; as a result the aloe vera plant has boosted my everyday morale and instilled more happiness in my life. I look forward to the days I can feed the plant, and I enjoy opening the blinds for it every morning. I do not even have to get dirty to take care of my plant, because it lives in a pot rather than an outdoor garden. One day soon I get to transfer the plant to a larger pot where it can grow even bigger and healthier than before.
Gardening extraordinaire Cheryl Patterson must have been correct when she said to “surround yourself with special things that you enjoy, that will give you a moment to pause, reflect and just feel good, “(Patterson). My search into the mystery of gardening has led me to change my opinion that gardening is only grueling work for old ladies; I have found that gardening can induce feelings of calm tranquility and harmony with yourself and the world, and yes, plants must be peaceful after all.
bmgraham 