Blame Someone!

Life sucks, doesn’t it? There’s never enough of the good things, and always too many of the bad things. Income is too low, expenses are too high. Even the weather is mostly lousy.

What’s a grown man or woman to do? Frankly, it’s time for a good old-fashioned tantrum. That’s it – let’s just lie down on the floor and screech and howl until “they” give us what we want!

“Don’t be silly, Norm!”, you might say, “we’re much too mature for that!” Well, perhaps. And perhaps not.

Let’s take, for example, my being overweight. There are dozens, maybe hundreds, of reasons for this. The convenience of fast food. Cute advertising. The fact that fries and burgers and snacks are, quite frankly, amazingly tasty. They bring me comfort when I’m depressed, and I deserve them. It’s all the fault of McDonald’s and the food industry!

All these things are true. But none of them are the reason why I pack on too many pounds, or kilograms. The real reason is that I make unwise eating decisions and I don’t get enough exercise.

McDonalds offers me poutine and slushies, but they also offer me salads and tea. I’ve yet to have a Mickey D’s employee hold a gun to my head – the choice is always mine. They’re just trying to make a buck, and that’s what keeps our economy going. The health choice is mine, not theirs.

Sure, there are all kinds of rotten politicians and fat-cat industrialists and sleazy entrepreneurs. Always have been, always will be. But at the end of the day, the key question for my well-being, and yours, is in our own hands: who ultimately is responsible for the direction of our lives?

It’s altogether too easy to kvetch about politicians and policy makers (and I’ll admit that this writer is not shy about doing so), but in the final analysis, doing what is right for me is up to me, and doing what is right for you is up to you.

There’s no one else to blame.