Some brilliant Facebook commenter has posed the question of the ages. I would like to know the person behind such a witty statement…but let me ask you this, do they make a valid point?
I know they’re most likely being facetious but it brings to light many a problem with our current cultural landscape. For starters the “war” we’ve got ourselves in within many different countries. The thing that gets me is, have we ever really stated our purpose or intention as bringing World Peace as the end-all be-all of our actions?
Another thing it of course brings up is the overall state of health in this country. Lord knows the good majority of us are at least slightly heavier than we should be, but the sad reality is that there is a great deal of Americans that are heavily overweight.
I myself don’t wish to throw too much of my opinion out there on any of these topics but I would love to hear what you think. Let’s start a nice, healthy, and clean debate in the comments here…bark away my friends.
Hate to break it to you but obesity is a desired quality among many Muslim countries, especially when choosing a wife. The bigger, the better. Although, that begs the question, would the wars (that's right, we're still fighting two of them) end if we sent all our fattie women to the middle east? Maybe they'd fall in love or interbreed far enough as to not be able to distinguish them. And less fatties here at home! It's brilliant.
No, because as the Army has a hard time finding new recruits, they will lower their standards.
The problem with the notion that if all the soldiers in the world become fat, war will end, is that you have to eat a whole crapload of rice in order to become obese. Once the rest of the world gets fat and lazy, the Chinese are going to take over.
simple solution to world peace: nuke Jerusalem, then there is nothing to fight over in the middle-east.
Obesity requires large amounts of food. Food requires large amounts of land (for crops) and feed (for animals), as well as time, energy, export, etc. While obesity is growing in well developed countries, it is not yet the norm, much less the overwhelming majority. Beyond that, much of the world is not well-developed, and much of the world's population is average if not underweight.
We are already depleting oceans of renewable fish populations and you think this idea is even worth consideration? Making the entire population of over 6 BILLION humans obese would require such a large amount of food that war would be waged if more so than it is now as demand increases. You can live without gold, oil, and conflict diamonds, but not food. Something tells me people, particularly obese people, would be a little more urgently seeking food. I don't care for big macs, but I sure as hell wouldn't want to get shot seeking one or three out to fuel my 400 lb gut. And unfortunately the heart disease and multitude of associated health problems that come along with obesity would take far too long to combat overpopulation.
Brilliant my ass, debate over.
A better solution is applying more of our lofty military funding into more "fattie-friendly" fighting gear. Local police have no issues with their massive weight by utilizing Tasers as the easiest (see: laziest) means to stop someone from running away–without even killing them!
I'll bet these young, bright-eyed and full-waisted fellows could be a new group of super-snipers if we gave them the gear, and the chance. I say let them join, toss them a bag of chips, beanbag chair and a sniper rifle and we could man this war with easily 25% less manpower.
Sam, if something "begs the question," you don't write the question.
No, they don't make a valid point, because we all know that if a lack of soldiers ever becomes that serious of an issue, protocol will be rewritten to provide for the military's need. Once they're in the military, I'm sure there won't be a problem with them losing weight as necessary and as demanded by their superiors.
As far as our health goes – if you want to be fat, you can be fat. Don't ever let me hear you complain that you "can't lose weight," though. I was fat my whole life and I lost 90 pounds my sophomore year of college and got in shape. Lack of personal discipline is not an excuse – it's an obstacle that needs to be conquered on your way to the goal.
Silly question. Killing other people has been the predominant occupation and inclination of humans since the first cave-dweller bashed his neighbor over the head with a rock. It simply isn't credible that they'll stop now because of a lack of fit troops.
If war were to end due to obesity, it wouldn't bring about world peace. All it would mean is that every country on earth would invade their neighbors for food.
there you go! that would be world peace but the chinese will take over!
Obesity is the result of food industrialization and the decline of raw food consumption, for which mankind has an evolutionary affinity. Large portions of our daily food intake need be comprised of fresh, enzyme rich foods to maintain physiological and psychological well being. Obviously the "westernized" diets completely neglect this simple truth and the consequences are increasingly obvious. From the herds of fat, mindless people roaming shopping malls to the consistently highest murder rate of any civilized superpower in history. The only hope I see is a global paradigm shift, embracing anew the wisdom of our ancestors and ultimately rediscovering our purpose as people. Hopefully this is not catalyzed by catastrophe. Jimi Hendrix said it best, "When the Power of Love overcomes the Love of Power, the world will know peace."
I have to agree with Anonymous about lowering standards. During the so-called war in Vietnam the US was drafting people those of us in the Army referred to as McNamara's (Sec of Defense) Raiders: people not mentally capable of serving.
Jeez, former fat people proselytize more than born-again Christians.
Ha ha why would we have to kill each other when we will all be dying of diabetes.
Without inner peace there is no outer peace.
The US Army are already onto this problem; The solution is called automated drones…
Also: the fat kids can be trained how to fly/drive the current versions of the UAV/UGV…
P.S: The pentagon is in the business of war not health… Do you think they used the study to highlight the obesity problem in America? Or to convince the government they need to spend more money on unmanned vehicles?
Americans have been fighting somebody nearly continuously through history. World Peace should begin with an end to the imperial wars.
As for the fatties. Seems to me that forcing them into service might help them.
The world will adjust itself to obesity, if it happens to take over. Just this time, obese people will be fighting other obese people, with new tactics of, say, hand-to-hand or martial arts combat, as an example.
A smaller army results in an inability to defend a nation, not world peace. Obesity isn't a worldwide epidemic after all, and western nations don't have a monopoly on war.
Couldn't we just start dropping fat people from planes? Please?
As a former US Marine and current college student, this is offensive. I would hope that the group of fatties who wanted to get into the Army so bad actually started working out and achieved their goal. Why? Because that's what it means to be an American.
World peace has nothing to do with the wars we're fighting. Peace must be achieved on an individual level. We will never be able to change how other people think and act, thus it is futile to attempt to even conceive a world wide peace. I fought in a war, and now I work and go to school. I'd like to think I have achieved some amount of peace in my life.
Oh, and I'm not fat. Grow up, America.
The Answer to World Peace?
Posted by: Heesa Phadie on June 21st, 2010
Some brilliant Facebook commenter has posed the question of the ages. I would like to know the person behind such a witty statement…but let me ask you this, do they make a valid point?
I know they’re most likely being facetious but it brings to light many a problem with our current cultural landscape. For starters the “war” we’ve got ourselves in within many different countries. The thing that gets me is, have we ever really stated our purpose or intention as bringing World Peace as the end-all be-all of our actions?
Another thing it of course brings up is the overall state of health in this country. Lord knows the good majority of us are at least slightly heavier than we should be, but the sad reality is that there is a great deal of Americans that are heavily overweight.
I myself don’t wish to throw too much of my opinion out there on any of these topics but I would love to hear what you think. Let’s start a nice, healthy, and clean debate in the comments here…bark away my friends.
Kinda silly. People have fought through feast, famine and plague. People don't seem to care for the idea anything beyond the ideal weight, and use it to draw conclusions in all sorts of directions. Personally I don't care. Weight is the trendy thing to point to for societal ills. Heavy people can't learn, can't do this or that. Whatever. Save us skinny people! BTW I am skinny. Always have been. I can't save America. I am no better for society than many or most all the heavy people are. I am not superior in any measurable way to be frank. Anyone who uses the word fattie, probably is not anything but a societal drain themselves. Chastising people into submission, seems as flawed as anything the target is doing.
we dont have to be over weight, there are plenty of fat burners on the market
so we dont have to stop eating, take the pill and be happy
The answer to world peace is communication. Regardless of what people say, world peace cannot be solved with arbitrary means such as weight gain. There needs to be a way for everyone in the world to give a vote for important matters using the internet, or even an internet that surpasses the one we have now. Complete security with a physical vote on the internet. Even for international matters.
Can you imagine a specific website owned by the people and for the people anonymously that will post your vote instantaneously. Using your newly bought Ipad you can set the website as your homepage and send your vote securely towards laws instantaneously.
I won't tell Sam about his idiotic "trolling" plan to make "fattie" (properly spelled fatty) women go to Iran.
I have such little hope for the world that I realize this post will be lost within a matter of seconds.
Goodnight and good luck.