In late 1799, George Washington was still able-bodied in his late 60s. He caught what appeared to be a respiratory illness and in the ensuing days his esteemed physicians “bled” him four times before he died. The same useless “treatment” was used in antiquity. Civil War surgeons routinely performed field amputations without hand washing. Three of the four children of Mary and Abraham Lincoln died of mysterious and seemingly unavoidable afflictions.

Today, we live longer because of science and we created new technology, vaccines, antibiotics, testing, etc. And yet, unhealthy food and lifestyle will be major factors to the deaths of over 2 million Americans this year, including: heart disease and stroke (935,000), cancer (600,000), and diabetes (over 100,000), and forms of dementia. For the record, a significant fraction of the food content of your favorite grocery store qualifies as addictive and, well, junk food.

When will America get to the heavy lifting needed to whip this stupid disease-optional crisis? 

It’s not looking promising. President Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. seem to not view quality science, international collaboration or transparency as a benefit to American health: firing “the best and the brightest,” politicizing science, short-funding and mismanaging the Department of Education, National Institutes of Health, the CDC, the FDA — and destroying non-corporate media. The recipe of less transparency, funding and professionalism for health and public education — and more billionaire influence — means less health and more unnecessary death.

Burl Sheldon