"Common sense is not so common."

Voltaire

Do you ever wonder why people behave as they do? I am constantly amazed at the behavior of people and the things they do.

As I get older I get more and more curious and spend much more time thinking about things than I did in my twenties. It just seems we have swung the pendulum so far from common sense that it may never come back.

I don't think it's because we're stupid, but I do believe that we are time constrained and we don't take time to think for ourselves.

I also believe that there is a conscious effort to "dumb down Americans" by the media and the advertising industries.

We rely too much on these sources of "information" for our own good. Perhaps it's the threat of lawsuits that make us so scary of allowing people to be responsible for their actions. I have some recent examples of "warning labels" that make me feel somebody thinks I'm stupid. * My new lawnmower warned me not to pick it up while it's running and use it as a hedge trimmer. * Or the makers of my windshield sunscreen told me not to operate the vehicle while it was in place.

We have become oblivious to things like this and have also become accustomed to not being responsible for our actions.

For example we want to sue the fast food industries for making us fat. Hey, we know it's bad and we eat the stuff....

I do have a point to all of this and it is simply that we are, as a nation are large and growing larger. I read an article in yesterday's newspaper that they are going to begin weight checks on cruise ships and airlines because average passenger weights are getting heavier. Seats are being widened, even coffins are being 'super sized".

Obesity has increased by 20% in the last decade and the diet industry has grown to over $35 billion annually. Hey, Ever think maybe the stuff they're selling isn't working?

We keep going down the same path however, looking for positive results without trying to understand the fundamentals of how the body works and what we need to provide it to allow it to be fit and well.

About Author :
Martin Harshberger is a sucessful business consultant, and fitness advocate. He has done extensive research and testing of nutrition, diet and exercise programs. His interest was initiated by a personal health issue, and he was sucessful in losing over 50 pounds, lowering his stress and blood pressure, as well as increasing muscle mass all at age 57. This was after he failed at the so called expert programs.