Advertising Sickness

It was a rather dull day within the confines of my inspiratory (the name I prefer to call my cubical), and I was itching for some action. My beloved boss, Heather Zwickey, who always has had the ability to recognize my state of affairs, observed my fidgeting mind and instructed me to take in a matinee.

This presented an opportunity to leave work early and to go and see Sicko so that I could understand more clearly the commentary about health care from the outsider’s point of view. This was not exactly my idea of taking the afternoon off. In order to avoid the sickness and nausea that comes with this sort of experience for me (I know the subject matter all too well), I knowingly disobeyed a direct order from my favorite boss of all time. Instead, I went to see the latest Harry Potter picture film. What I discovered was a two-minute preview piece by Geena Davis that I found equally as sick as the infamous Sicko flick.

I caught the number 19 bus downtown, feeling lucky that I did not have to wait too long out along the busy traffic’s edge. Now don’t get me wrong: I love the bus. If you ever go to Portland, ride the bus. It is an inexpensive experience that allows you to act as a passenger in life, absorbing the scenes flitting past windows edge, as well as opportunity to interact with the population in intimate encounters. For today’s venture, a clinically obese individual sat next to me, the weight of his presence occluding most of my point of view. I began to systematically create a diagnosis of his condition, acting as detective, recording visual and non-visual clues, attempting to sum a life’s experiences into a densely neat paragraph. This is a common exercise that I use to keep my medical and writer’s skills up to par.

The richness that I lap up during this short span of time, moments between bus stops, satiates my appetite, my innate curiosity of soul. For this stout individual: I noticed cellutitis, a thickened purply patchwork of dead skin tissue, creeping up his leg, as he laboriously inhaled and exhaled recovering from his exercise of climbing onto the bus. Quietly I debated my position as a medical practitioner or as a fellow bus passenger and whether or not I should dispense any health related advice.

I have learned that being a Good Samaritan is not always appreciated; sometimes this approach goes well, other times it does not. Knowing that my bus stop was approaching, I continued to keep my thoughts quiet, but the internal struggle would remain with me long after our encounter. We did not exchange words, but in our brief unsaid conversations of body language and sensory exchanges, the event was pleasant enough that we traded smiles as I exited for my stop.

Arriving at the theater with time to spare, I decided to observe some more, being a spectator of spectators yet again. In today’s day and age, you no longer have the opportunity to sit and stare blankly ahead, organizing thoughts and enjoying the stillness of silence. Now, instead of muted monolith to look upon, advertisements, insidiously capture its captive audience proclaiming youth and happiness with dancing candy bars and teddy bears.

As we all sat before the previews, before the movie, Geena Davis flashed in giant stature, standing stiffly along the right-hand side of screen, appearing plastic in form and facial expressions. Her unnatural movement mechanically and methodically took our eyes from right to left, explaining to her audience her support of a leukemia charity. We, as an audience, also could join in her mission to eradicate cancer. To do this, we simply need to purchase a package of large popcorn and large coca-cola beverage. A snack of unhealthy combinations, greasy kernels and corn-syruped, ice-cubed concoctions; essentially the most unnatural dietary snack one could imagine.

My mind screeched to a halt, snagging on the idea that this was how a health-related charity decided to generate money for cancer research?

My thoughts slipped back to my fleeting friendship on the bus. My internal Jiminy Cricket Conscience, went into over-drive and I began to question the morals of those that chose to make this decision, and sought to comprehend how Geena Davis, a card-holding MENSA member, missed this rather obvious detail. I could feel my body recoiling from this poorly planned marketing approach, one that seemed to take advantage of the ill-savvy nutritional eater in an opportune moment in order to plea for a worthy cause through irrational methodology….

Then the blame-game on my end ceased.

Perhaps this was one of the most lucrative ways to make money for the charity. Perhaps Geena Davis has a family member affected by this devastating aliment, and she is doing her part to save a loved one. My skin relaxed as my mental venom uncoiled. Reality settled in: this extends far beyond this monetary movie madness, reaching fingers into relationships beyond a bag of popcorn, and into the interconnected lives and routines of billions of people. Searching for any sort of health related cure must be thoughtful, on all fronts, not simply focused on how to gain funds.

Perhaps this was a lesson for me as well, as I begin to create conduits of change for personal health and well-being for the individual, maybe this is a great way to add insight into how to revolutionize the way health care is managed. Finding funds is only part of the answer, as the overlooked details like greasy popcorn leads to gallbladder overloading and soft drinks lead to insulin surging… and on down the line, promoting unhealthy diets, regardless of the initial health “cause” does not ultimately support what was intended: a healthy community of people. Leukemia is only part of a wider cry of health concerns.

Shouldn’t those involved in health care, in all areas, try to see the big picture and choose ways to support both the individual and our worthy cause? Shouldn’t our goal be to create a healthy and robust society, thereby using common sense like balanced eating and lifestyle thus eliminating chronic aliments such as cancer and diabetes? Am I the only one that sees the enormous impact this will have?

Here’s a rather novel idea, as a society, let’s begin taking the whole picture into account when making personal business decisions.

This form of approach that will not only be sustainable in the long run, but will also prove worthy no matter the kind of business: start seeing the infrastructure of how funds are generated. What systems are involved, how do these systems relate to the health of an individual involved and moreover, the health of the community at large, and then eventually how and where those funds are allocated. And the ultimate test as to whether a decision was made appropriately or not: Would this choice create consequences that would harm your mother?