Musings, Part I: Become your own hero

...Because, the hero from the   stories may never come

Americans are very optimistic people, with a firm belief in heroism, but is this always good? Is the optimism unfounded and where does it come from? Have you noticed that we, the Americans, are perpetually entranced by the glory of last-minute interventions? 

Here they are: the wail of the ambulance saving the sick, the rush of the doctors answering code blue, the explosive disabled at the last second, and the law officer apprehending the villain at the last moment… All of these eleventh-hour solutions bring thrill, joy, and elation. We also like to read about last-minute miracles. We delight in heroes of fiction, movies, songs, folk legends and fairy tales, as they all perform the last-minute ritual of SAVING. We grew up with the on-time sweep by Superman and the handsome youth killing the dragon just before the beast releases deadly fire on the innocent.  

We are searching for, and expecting, the same type of miracles in our lives. Our fascination with cancer cure is connected to this ingrained psychology of miracle-expectation. The obsession with cancer treatment and cure, mainstream or alternative, is all over Internet, newspapers, TV, movies and books. It will be difficult to re-adjust this attitude. It is time, however, to realize that even if heroes who “cure” cancer existed, it would be better to prevent the disease.  It is time to realize that if there is no health crisis, there will be no need of a hero. In fact, we all can become heroes by preventing our own health crisis, and managing whatever is under our control. Preventing a crisis in a long run is the true, but stealthy, heroism. This stealthy heroism manifests wisdom, initiative, and bravery. Not foreseeing a health crisis, however, and acting at the last moment, equates to stupidity, ignorance and impulsiveness. Think about it:

• One in five adult Americans smoke.

• Two in three adult Americans are overweight or obese.

• One in two adult Americans has diabetes or pre-diabetes. 

• One in two or three Americans will be diagnosed with cancer. 

How many more warnings do we need? In fact, the health crisis has been unfolding for the past 20 years. The stealth heroes have never showed up. Let's hope that the last-minute heroes make an appearance.

Musings - part II explains why being healthy is a question of freedom.