Blog #4 Is our Health something which we have control over?

Is our health something, which we have control over? To answer this question one must consider what Gaudium et Spes has to say. According to part 2 chapter 3 it states that, “In the economic and social realms, too, the dignity and complete vocation of the human person and the welfare of society as a whole are to be respected and promoted. For man is the source, the center, and the purpose of all economic and social life.” In contemporary society, it seems that we are all obsessed with the “bigger, better” mentality. Modern day America does not believe that “man is the source, center, and purpose of all economic life.” Instead it believes that jobs are the center of economic and social life. Men and women are being overworked in multiple occupational settings and directly have their health affected in a negative manner. Even though America has ample resources for food and money, it does not take away the fact that our country is suffering from overworking its citizens.

            According to Juliet Schor who reported in The Overworked American: The Unexpected Decline of Leisure, “annual average work hours for Americans have risen from 1,679 in 1973 to 1,878 in 2000.” Consequently, this represents an increase of 199 hours, or roughly around five additional weeks annually. Relative to European workers U.S. workers labor an average of nine weeks more. In America we have shorter vacations, mandatory overtime, and work more hours at home even when the workday has ended. Also, at least 134 countries have laws setting the maximum length of the workweek. The United States does not have such a restriction. Moreover, the U.S. remains the only industrialized country in the world that does not have a legally mandated annual leave. Statistics can continue to be enumerated but I think I have gotten the point across. In simple terms, Americans are the outliers.

            It is very important to work hard and strive for personal betterment. I look to Gaudium et Spes yet again to further this point by stating, “Citizens, on the other hand, should remember that it is their right and duty, which is also to be recognized by the civil authority, to contribute to the true progress of their own community according to their ability.” If one genuinely loves what they do and are doing it for the right reasons then one is more than entitled to work incessantly. However, typically more work leads to a higher level of stress, which can lead ultimately to multiple heath problems, not to mention a lower quality of life. A recent statistic was just released by leading health activists Dembe, Erickson, Delbos, and banks in 2005: “Overtime schedules had the greatest incremental risk of injury, with overtime workers having a 61% higher injury hazard rate compared to workers in jobs without overtime, after controlling for age, gender, occupation, industry, and region.” The United States needs to recognize this issue and address it.

            In America there seems to be the ever-pervading idea that “money can buy happiness.” We absolutely love money; we crave it all the time no matter where we are. Our nation was founded on the “dog eat dog” approach. If we work harder than the other guy we consequently acquire more money, simple as that. It has been drilled into our heads that we are fundamentally lazy compared to our free market counterparts. A few examples include but are not limited to, China, India, and Mexico. A sort of paradox seems to develop, one primarily called the American paradox. Essentially, it means that no matter how much wealth we acquire we always desire more. It is a vicious cycle, and it is an idea that will always stay relevant. A vast majority of this money goes into the agricultural and food industry. It is true that we have ample resources of sufficient food and nutrition. However, even if one exercises diligently and is designated “physically fit” that does not necessarily mean one is “healthy.” According to John C. Goodman, “In Canada, the wealthy and powerful have significantly greater access to medical specialists than do the less well-connected poor” (Goodman, 2009). This quote furthers the idea that wealth pervades everywhere and controls directly for access to health care. Apart from this, what if an individual had excellent quality of nutrition but had cerebral palsy? That is a factor one cannot control for it is a predisposition. What if someone didn’t have an inherent condition to deal with but grew up in the slums surrounded by smog produced by the local factory? That is something one cannot control. We constantly fight to keep our health in check but the fact of the matter is that health in the end is something that is not in our direct control. Health in the United States will continue to be an issue of great discussion for years to come. It will never be something that one can control completely and utterly.