Our lifestyles are designed to keep our butts in one spot most of the time. We sit in our cars, moving yet somehow not moving at the same time. At work we sit at our desks, our hips widening over time to overlap our ergonomic chair. Once home we sit on the couch, drawn by the soft glow of entertainment, video games, or the Internet. Christ, we don’t even get up for the commercials any more.
But the human body’s not made for sitting. It’s made for action.
If your house was on fire, you’d spring into action. You’d move. You’d call 911. You’d get yourself and your family to safety. That’s because we’re genetically designed for action. We see a threat, be it a house fire or saber-tooth tiger, and we move, baby.
But what if the threat is not so visible, or so immediate? What if your rights were being slowly eroded? What if your bank accounts were slowly being drained? What if the polar ice caps were slowly melting? Would you spring into action? Would you move?
What if the pretty lady on the teevee said there’s nothing to worry about? Would that give you an out, an excuse to sit…back…down…ahhhhh.
Or would you think more like Henry Waxman, who spoke so eloquently to the deniers on the Hill:
“If my doctor told me I had cancer, I wouldn’t scour the country to find someone to tell me that I don’t need to worry about it.”
Now I’m betting that most of you are like me: not a doctor, and not a scientist. I don’t know much about cancer. But I tell you what - I know enough to avoid things that are suspected of causing it. I know enough to take action if I suspect I might have it.
If I’m sick, I have enough sense to stop doing the things that are causing me problems. If I’m having stomach cramps after drinking milk, lactose intolerance is going to cross my mind, not, “Maybe I should wear more comfortable shoes.”
Well guess what, America? You’ve got cancer.
It’s a cancer of apathy and ignorance. It’s a malignant tumor in your occipital lobe, blinding you to what’s going on. Its eating away at you in places you can’t see and really don't know that much about. And the pretty lady on the teevee says it’s all in your mind, and you should really look into those comfortable shoes, your shoes are the real problem.
No, America, your ass is the real problem. Get off of it. You don’t have to be an expert to open your eyes and see what’s going on. Open up your ears and listen to the people who are in a position to know. Remember what happened before. Think hard. Think hard about why we’re in this situation. Think hard about who was at the switch when the train went off the rails. Think hard about what we need to do, right now.
Then get up and do it.