More Military Metaphor

Taking my morning coffee reading the internet.  Saw an article that grabbed my interest:

America’s Healthiest & Unhealthiest States

I decided to take a look, I was interested in what the survey used as criteria in making their ranking.  While the exact order of the list would be interesting in a trivia sort of way, I knew that the northern states would rank near the top while the deep south struggled.  I  guessed that Mississippi would rank either 50th or 49th.

Low and behold, what to my wondering eyes did appear?

Right in the middle of an article discussing health, being healthy and how to get healthier was a military metaphor!  Now, to be sure, it’s hard to know when the article was actually penned, coulda’ been last night–coulda’ been last week.  And really, it doesn’t matter.  The point I’m trying to make ISN’T that it’s inappropriate in any way, my point is that such terms and imagery have become part of the lexicon in America.

When we talk about circling the wagons, we don’t mean that we should circle literal wagons.  When we say, in response to “Are you ready”, “Yes boss, locked and loaded”; we are not saying that we are literally carrying a handgun with a shell in the chamber and safety off.  We say these things because we know that they convey a specific attitude-an attitude that has nothing to do with the literal.

So it is, that in an article discussing State Health Rankings, when the author says:

Cooper says that several years ago, the state’s political leaders looked at ways to improve Tennessee’s rank by improving access to health insurance. Eventually they decided insurance wasn’t the primary cause of or solution to health problems; instead, they set their cross-hairs on nutrition, physical inactivity and tobacco use. Any improvement in these areas, says Cooper, improves many other health issues, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and infant mortality.

When the author says THAT, he is not, repeat NOT, saying that they have a loaded gun looking for people who are not focusing on nutricion.

People, drop this nonsensical rhetoric and get back to life.

2 responses to “More Military Metaphor

  1. I don’t know, reading this inspired me to go out and hunt down fat people.
    🙂

  2. reading this inspired me to go out and hunt down fat people.

    Don’t blame me; it was Forbes 😉

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