The Whole Shibang

My company has several nurses that work solely for us as consultants. Today in training one came in and gave a presentation on the many complications that can accompany pregnancy, to give us a good idea of what to expect (no pun intended) and how to code certain items in our system. The entire presentation made me uneasy and continually angry. Not necessarily at any one person or entity; more at the situation we as Americans find ourselves in.
The last century saw an economic boom with the advent of modern agriculture and mass amounts of available food. This in turn was the red carpet that our modern era of convenience to strolled in on. With food so readily available, Americans could focus on more important things, like being entertained and buying their kids toys. Technology and science has become the American idol, prized higher than any other thing in the world. However, in our greatly advanced society, we have the highest infant/mother birth mortality rate of all industrialized nations. We have more disease, cancer, and syndromes than ever before. Some are new to the last century.
Sure, there are more people in the world (I think we're nearing 9 billion now, if memory serves), which in turn allows for more possibilities with sickness statistically. I get that. But it's not enough to account for what we have seen as far as ratios go.
Before the 20th century, heart disease was very rare. People on average consumed 18 lbs. of butter a year, as well as large quantities of animal fats and oils, rich with cholesterol and saturated fat. The milk they drank was raw. The eggs they cooked were from free range chickens. Not because they were all hippies; they just didn't have the technology we do today. Lucky them. I'll say it again in case you missed it: Before the 20th century, heart disease was very rare.
Now, before you go calling me a hypocrite for hating technology as I write this on my iBook using my Time Warner Cable listening to My Morning Jacket on iTunes, let me explain that I think technology is a very cool thing. It's made life easier in a lot of ways that it didn't have to be. The dude pushing his rock along road thinks about a wagon; hey, now he can tote that rock wherever the eff he wants to! This thing is useful! Technology is a very good thing. I love me some good technology. But it shouldn't be the end all. It might be time to realize that maybe, just maybe, our great-grandparents didn't have it all wrong. Whatever happened to respecting the elders, and gray hair being a crown of wisdom? For example, maybe we should keep washing our hands to prevent the bubonic plague (which, btw, is quite curable these days), but maybe we shouldn't create a vaccine for every minute little bug that comes along, because it's not good for our kids to become autistic or to create superbugs that are immune to everything we throw at them. Maybe planes are really good for transporting people and things, but maybe we shouldn't be flying asparagus from Chile so we can eat it in the winter. Maybe we should eat locally and seasonally because that's the way our bodies have evolved.

I know a lot of people think we're crazy for the way we (us here Deulens) choose to live our lives. Or at least they will the longer they get to know us. We still sleep with Ada (now 1); we haven't yet given her any sugar or refined flour yet (or hopefully ever; hah!) because we believe it's the root of all processed evil in this world. We drink raw milk and cheese (and would buy raw butter if it was available) and cook with lard. We have 5 baby chickens in our living room. I'm converting my truck to run on veggie oil (see, technology! I feel like Bill Nye). We only flush the toilet when it really needs to be flushed. I believe riding my bike to work is a better option than riding a bike that doesn't go anywhere. I don't watch t.v. Not really anyway. I've never paid for cable or directv (mostly because we're too busy baking bread or rock climbing; let me rephrase that: Julie bakes bread and I rock climb). We listen to bands called Man Man and Trampled By Turtles because we believe the musicians who aren't paid vast amounts of money make better music. We tried for a home water birth because we don't believe that birth is something that should be controlled, but, instead, is something that you should experience and allow to happen as naturally as possible.

So, as I sat there listening to home-girl rattle on about the complications of pregnancy, without so much as a hint that any of the c-sections or cerclages could be due to our blind following of the infallible science of mankind (or America, rather; or insurance, rather; or the insatiable desire for control, rather), or the drastic change our diet has taken over the last 100 years as a result of "policies" and propaganda (read: mind control/brainwashing of sorts; see "advertising" in wikipedia), I couldn't help but be a little frustrated at the situation. Yet here I am, processing claims for people who don't know any better because this is our life, here in the good ol' US of A. This is how we do it baby. Uh-huh. Ignorance is bliss. Drugs are the answer. Oh, but only the kind that our "govern"ment approves.

Do people know a lot of this information? Yes. Do they change their lives at all? Maybe a little. Most don't do too much, since that demon-apathy, is hearty and convincing. And also because it's nearly impossible to mimic dietary habits of people who lives 100 years ago. We all die anyway, right? Well, I for one won't go quietly into that good night. Maybe just sadly.
Cheers.