Howdy, all--
A Language Archaeology Alert from the resident word watcher.
Allan forwarded this:
>This is one of the great fallacies of "politically correct" nutrition, that
>dietary vitamin D is unnecessary.
"Politically correct" is a term that started out as an ironic joke
among progressive and liberal folks in the 80s. Generally directed at
themselves and each other, in reference to attempts-run-amok to make
the political personal.
It was picked up by the Utterly Humorless Right shortly thereafter
and treated as though it were something other than a joke. But then
folks who keep electing Strom Thurmond, have Orrin Hatch running for
president, and think the world *isn't* run by rich white guys can't
be expected to know much about levity. Not to mention reality, but I
digress.
The nutritional science argument over whether to to add synthetic
micronutrients to processed foods to restore food value lost in
processing, or to give foods artificial levels of micronutrients, is
not "politically correct." It dates to well before the joke of
"political correctness" became taken seriously. It is a construct of
nutritional SCIENCE, not liberal politics of the 80s.
The notion that these synthetic micronutrients might not be as
helpful--and may indeed contribute to harm--dates to way back before
the 80s; read Jethro Kloss and John Christopher and similar members
of the back-to-the-white-male-headed
Bible-reading-rural-nuclear-family-of-the-legendary-past movement. (A
vision of a life which, of course, never existed--men started
abandoning families in the late 1700s in the colonies, it accelerated
at several points in the 1800s, and reached epic proportions in the
1950s, with the mass media supplying helpful fabrications like
Liberated Bachelorhood to support it.)
Whether dietary vitamin D is necessary or not is a question for
science, not politics--though it's important always to remain awake
to the political biases of science. But let's stay clear about where
the political biases of science originate.
Puh-LEEZE, people. How the hopping hades are we going to make
alternative thought happen, if we keep using the poor reasoning and
sloppy language of people who are content with the status quo, and
vilify any efforts to challenge it?
peace
misha
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Michele Gale-Sinex
Home office: 415-504-6474 (504-MISH)
Home office fax: Same as above, phone first for enabling
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I prefer a rude vigor to a polished banality. --Utah Philips
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