Nuts

They say it’s about freedom of choice; each person has the opportunity to choose what s/he puts in her mouth, what she feeds her kids, and where she shops. While this may be true, the laws surrounding clarity of intent with marketing are skewed at best. And on top of that, the marketers — and companies themselves — are listening to flawed scientific studies and then bubble wrapping the results for personal gain; at the sacrifice of humanity.

Think about companies like Coca-Cola, Pepsi, McDonald’s, and the like. While I mean no disrespect to the jobs they create, the attempt they make to do business with high ethics — considering what they do for a living — and the impact corporate America has on our economy, I feel it’s fair to say the products these companies create are causing harm.

Personally, I had to make a decision at a certain point growing up what I would do with my life. I had to decide if I would do something that contributed or detracted from humanity. I had to decide if my work would be about making money, or if my work would be about making a difference. Like everyone else, I found a compromise that worked for me, and I’ve adapted along the way to stay congruent with my internal moral code.

Did you find yourself going through a similar thought process with your career? And if you’ve seen your efforts hurt another person — who doesn’t understand she is not actually making a ‘free’ choice due to misinformation — has it led to you making changes?

I think each of us desires to help during our lifetimes. The lives we touch are highlighted by the love we spread, the imprint of kindness, and the smiles we create. Each of us feels delighted to provide more smiles in our lifetimes, and we tend to rationalize what we do for a living based upon this need; sometimes choosing less than ideal work in order to make people smile at home.

Except sociopaths. For whatever reason, sociopaths believe their highest path is destruction. Perhaps they believe the world is bad and the best way to fix it is to destroy it. Perhaps it differs person to person. But, I think of the Batman quote about the Joker: “some people just like to watch the world burn.”

So where do mega-food industry CEO’s fit in? They have the knowledge they are spreading mass disease and suffering. They rationalize each person gets to choose and it existed before them, as it will after. And then they get up and go to work. Each day, endorsing — and growing — the very same company that is hurting their children. And their children’s children.

Is it because the effects are long-term it doesn’t feel the same to them, or to us? If we could see the same effect as stabbing someone and watching them bleed, would we feel differently? Can you imagine someone taking the equivalent of a flip book and showing the effects of smoking, poisonous fast food, and soft drinks over time?

I think it might look something like war. Initially, you see someone wearing clean clothes, all limbs intact, eyes lit up, and fully alert. Over the years, you see them weaken. First, a big belly and fat thighs. Then, bags under their eyes. Before you know it, hair sticking up in weird places, random bald spots, blotchy skin, love handles, a spare tire, thighs that rub together, cankles, and limbs that start getting amputated.

When this ‘action figure’ dies, if you didn’t have context, you might think they fought an entire war. You might not realize the war they’ve been fighting has been with addiction related to food they eat. You might not realize each decision to try another ‘poisonous food’ leads to the long-term outcome of pure suffering and misery.

We are literally torturing ourselves with the choices we make, and we have no idea we’re doing it. The television shows we are watching are brainwashing us to speak and think differently. The food we eat is causing us to have hormonal surges that lead towards different behavioral traits. The chemicals put into cigarettes are far worse for us than tobacco itself. And even the ultraviolet lights we’ve designed to save energy are frying our eyes and leading towards lost focus through a stressed mind. Heck, the way we ‘clean’ our water deactivates our pineal gland — or human bliss gland — and bottled water is missing the minerals we need for balanced health.

Today’s thought exercise:

Let’s take a step back and admit we’re amazing engineers of this world. We can create anything we want. So, if we started over, ‘what’ do we wish to create? And why not start now?

I could use some teammates. You down?

Sent to you with love, honor, and in service,