McDonald's, Happy Meals, and free will

As most of you have probably heard, McDonald's has been sued by the Center for Science in the Public Interest because of their marketing practices associated with the very popular Happy Meals.  Yes, obesity is a health issue, but the roots of issue lie within the decision making and free will of the consumer.  This law suit is not going to solve the roots of the issue.

This lawsuit, no matter how successful or unsuccessful it is, will not address the real issue.  Americans are afraid to address the real issue.  The issue is that everybody has to do a better job taking care of themselves and those around them.  We need to make decisions for ourselves and our children, even if they are tough ones.  We cannot let McDonald's and three cent toys make the decisions for us.

If a parent cannot stand up to your 5-year-old and tell them "NO!" when they demand a Happy Meal, then the kid will have heart disease at age 25 because of the parent, not because of McDonald's.  My parents took us to McDonald's at times while growing up, but they told us "NO!" and made dinner time as a family a priority and a ritual.  We ate good food as a family and occasionally had fast food.  My sister and I turned out just fine and our parents made the McDonald's decision for us, even if that meant missing out on that three cent toy.

This makes me think of Nick Naylor's speech in "Thank You For Smoking."  It's a satirical film (and a brilliant film), but his speech at the end has a lot of truth in it: "Gentleman. It's called education. It doesn't come off the side of a cigarette carton. It comes from our teachers, and more importantly, our parents. It is the job of every parent to warn their children of all the dangers of the world including cigarettes so that one day when they get older, they can choose for themselves."


That's the way it is with fast food.  Having McDonald's run a couple fewer commercials or keeping them off Saturday morning TV or having them promote health food (which will actually be profitable for McDonald's in the long run from a marketing perspective) will not change the way the adults in our country think and will not make individuals take responsibility for their actions.