Socialism 2009

It was a shock to see about 20 young people attending this conference standing outside the Women's Building smoking, choking up the air. They were supposed to stand 20 feet away from the door; they should all be told to leave the entire block to smoke their cancer sticks. These are all obviously educated people, with at least a high school diploma, more than enough to know that smoking is bad for your health and calling cigarettes cancer sticks is a polite name. It is horrifying to older people because not only does it make the air unbreathable, but it means the message of all the social movements of the past never got through: THE PERSONAL IS POLITICAL and you must start by taking care of your health, including not smoking, eating healthy food, getting sufficient exercise and rest, and the like. IT IS NOT A MATTER OF PERSONAL CHOICE; IT IS A MATTER OF SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY. We all pay the terrible price in taxes when people smoke and get sick from smoking and make other people sick, not to mention the fires from smoking in bed, and the like. The more common problem is the social price we all pay for the medical bills. IT IS 45 YEARS SINCE THE SURGEON GENERAL'S REPORT THAT DECLARED SMOKING BAD FOR OUR HEALTH. IT IS LONG OVERDUE THAT PEOPLE WHO CONSIDER THEMSELVES PROGRESSIVES, SOCIALISTS, REVOLUTIONARIES AND THE LIKE STOP SMOKING. And, of course, no one can take you seriously as a political leader if you do not set a good example. Listening to all the political theories and history at this conference may entertaining and even informative, but if you have not learned the basics of good personal healthcare, your high school diploma is not worth anything, and the same is true of any college degree. Good personal healthcare means not smoking, eating healthy food, getting sufficient exercise and rest, wearing comfortable clothes, including good walking shoes (never wearing high heels, the podiatrist enrichment program), and always having healthcare insurance until we finally get single payer healthcare or socialized medicine in this backward country. Paying for medical insurance is about the third top priority, after rent and food. WHEN YOU GET DONE TAKING CARE OF YOUR PERSONAL HEALTH, THEN AND ONLY THEN you can tell others what political theory to support and what political actions to take.