Obesity Are We Responsible

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Tori .F Professor Walsh English 1C May 19, 2009 Obesity : Are We Responsible? Many people have began to address America's huge obesity problem, and very few people have been trying to do something to help the issue. Radley Balko, a graduate of Indiana University with a degree in journalism, a policy analyst with Cato Institute, a libertarian is a person who strongly agrees that the government should make the obese individual take full responsibility of their own actions. His article, "Are You Responsible For Your Own Weight: Pro" first appeared in a small debate in Time Magazine in June 2004. Already said to be a libertarian, Balko strongly believes that obesity is one's own problem and they should take full responsibility of it, because if they have to do it themselves without government funded aid, they are going to do it. Throughout the article Balko's tone stays the same, it is very sturdy, and you can tell that he truly believes in what he is saying. Balko stays with the one side that he is arguing for, and doesn't give any notice that he is going to at least acknowledge those who really may need help with their weight. In the article Balko also uses a few quotes that caught my eye because of the meanings that they portrayed and how he wrote them. "Our government ought to be working to foster a personal sense of responsibility for our health and well-being."(p.561) This quote by Balko can strike a nerve in some as it did me, true indeed I do strongly agree that everyone should take a personal sense of responsibility, but at the same time, what about those who can't do anything for themselves because their morbid obesity henders them from doing things as little as moving in a certain direction. " State legislatures and school board have begun banning snacks and sodas from school campuses and vending machines."(p. 561) I remember I was only in about
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