I believe in
science. I like modern medicine because
here I am, a person who did not die of all the childhood diseases against which
I was vaccinated, who survived two pregnancies with healthy outcomes for both
me and the kids in spite of complications, and who needed pharmacological help with
depression for years.
There are things,
however, that medicine doesn’t do and science hasn’t figured out yet. All the pills in the world are not going to
make up for unhealthy food choices.
There is no drug to replace exercise.
For that matter, there’s no pharmaceutical substitute for hugs and the other
human contact we need to survive.
Even when there are technological
interventions, they always work better if we do the human stuff, too. That knee replacement isn’t going to do much
good if we shirk the physical therapy. If
we don’t change the lifestyle things that are causing the pain, we’re going to
have to deal with drug side effects and maybe addiction as well.
It’s low-tech and not
particularly exciting, but let’s eat the veggies and get sweaty and go outside
to play. That’s what life is made out
of, even more than DNA and stardust.
