Weekly Assignment 9 - Essay Example

Analysis of Radley Balko’s “Obesity: Who is Responsible for out Weight?” Para What he says: Nutrition activistsand the government have instituted a number of regulations and have imposed taxes that they believe would alleviate obesity.What he does: The author merely enumerates the various regulations formulated by the government in order to cut down fat intake among American citizens, and he does not show his opinion on these yet, which means that this paragraph seeks merely to inform.Strengths and Weaknesses of the main point in the paragraph: The paragraph merely lists down facts and so there is no question here as to the truth of such facts.

However, if I were to consider Balko’s stance on the matter, which he explicitly states in Paragraph 2, I would like to think that he is exaggerating when he says that these are the wrong ways to fight obesity. He does not provide evidence to support his stance and to convince the reader that the government indeed has been a failure when it comes to combating obesity. Moreover, he may not have seen the success of the efforts of various non-profit groups like Partnership for a Healthier America, which works hand in hand with the government (“US childhood obesity fight sees some success”).

Para #2What he says: The author expresses disagreement towards the previously mentioned ways to fight obesity and asserts that the government should rather instill personal responsibility in the citizen instead of doing this.What he does: The author’s main purpose here is to merely tell the reader his disagreement with the government’s efforts at preventing obesity, while at the same time he emphasizes the value of personal responsibility.Strengths and Weaknesses of the main point in the paragraph: This paragraph somehow only goes together with the first.

The second paragraph is merely the concluding statement of the first. However, the author here stresses out the fact that unless one takes personal responsibility for his own actions, i.e. eating fat-rich foods or not, then no amount of effort from the government would be able to remedy obesity. Although the author has a point here, I do not completely agree with him on this because there could be times that group effort from government programs which are successfully carried out will eventually produce good results.

Para #3What he says: America seems backward when it comes to carrying out measures to reduce obesity. What he does: The author explains his point by providing examples of laws that he regards as lacking in sense when it comes to reducing obesity, thus trying to emphasize his point to the reader.Strengths and Weaknesses of the main point in the paragraph: It may be true that America’s health care system can be ridiculous to the point that it requires one healthy citizen to pay for a sick man’s health costs.

It is true that for every uninsured individual who gets sick, the burden of paying his hospital bills falls on the insured individuals (“The Uninsured”). Nevertheless, the burden falls on everyone else and everything else that is insured including government officials, doctors and hospitals. Perhaps, what is necessary here is a sense of altruism among us, starting with Radley Balko himself, or perhaps it is the idea of imagining the opposite situation. If, however, the insured would not pay for the uninsured, then so many helpless fellow American citizens will die.

If, therefore, there is a solution, then the government should provide medical benefits only to those who actually CANNOT take care of themselves anymore.Para #4What he says: The solution to obesity is to instill personal responsibility in each American citizen, thus making only the obese be the only ones responsible for their own health.What he does: The author proposes that the solution to obesity is not the institution of government laws but personal self-discipline, and he emphasizes that the government has a crucial role in carrying out this solution.

Strengths and Weaknesses of the main point in the paragraph: Personal responsibility is a good thing and is in fact ideal. However, ideal as it is, it is definitely not practical and workable. It is just as hard to instill discipline in an adult as it is in a child. The next thing in our minds then is to punish them by depriving them of medical benefits. It may work but it is actually outright cruel, and although we want our children to learn responsibility, we also want them to learn altruism.

Besides, leaving someone to die is not a scene that we may pride ourselves to show our children. There is therefore no question with personal responsibility but there is a big question regarding its feasibility.Para #5What he says: People should be responsible for their own health by being responsible for their own diet and lifestyle.What he does: The author does not only call for personal responsibility but also makes it clear that people who carry the burden of responsibility for their actions normally make better decisions.

Strengths and Weaknesses of the main point in the paragraph: The sarcasm in this statement is something that appeals to the reader, but the truth of the sarcasm is clearly not substantiated by evidence. According to the author, people are likely to make better decisions when they know that they will be the ones suffering from the consequences of their actions and decisions. However, the author may not realize that the story of almost 90% of criminals prove him wrong. People will do things as they wish regardless whether or not they know how the consequences will affect them.

That is why an emphasis on personal responsibility may not actually work. Perhaps, the better thing to do is to find a way to make almost everyone insured, but that is another topic by itself.Top of FormBottom of FormWorks Cited“The Uninsured.” 2013. PBS.org. 22 Aug 2013. “US Childhood obesity fight sees some success, group says.” 2013. Fox News. 22 Aug 2013.