If Eating Broccoli is Bad for You Does it Make You a Minority for Doing So?
-
Everett Piper Everett Piper's Blog
- Updated Dec 29, 2010
Note: To listen to a radio broadcast of the text below go to
KWON/KYFM http://www.bartlesvilleradio.com/caffeine/uploads/files/ON%20Demand/Ideas%20Matter/Ideas%20matter%2018%20complete.mp3
What would you think if I told you that
eating broccoli has been proven to cause a number of maladies some of which are
life threatening and all of which compromise human wellbeing and cost tax
payers billions of dollars.
For example what would you think if I
told you that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention says that one out
of five men in your city who choose to eat broccoli will contract an incurable
disease and suffer an early death?
What would you think if I told you that
because the CDC knows of this risk that it has already put in place regulations
that prohibit broccoli eaters from donating blood because their contagion risk
is 60 times higher than the general population?
What would you say if I showed
you that the FDA warns: Eating broccoli results in a 200-600% increase in the
likelihood of contracting other diseases such as Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C?
What would you think if I laid
in front of you a 2007 CDC study showing that those eating broccoli account for
an epidemic 64 percent of all syphilis cases in the United States even though
they comprise only 1-2% of the US population?
What would you think if I then turned
around and, in spite of all the above, said:
But eating broccoli is not a choice.
It's a lifestyle. It's an identity. We need to open up our military to
more broccoli. We must educate our
children to be more accepting of broccoli. We must create laws that promote
broccoli. Those who speak out about the
dangers of broccoli are hateful and intolerant. They're bigots. We can't discriminate against those who like
broccoli!
Do ideas matter? Are some logical? Are
some broken? Are some simply absurd? You be the judge.