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Congressman Blumenauer (and anyone else): Why is health important?

By: NWHF Staff | Posted on: December 12th, 2008 | 1 comments | Share:
Categories: Environmental Health • Disparities • Economic Issues • Education • Policies & Laws • Public Health • Did You Know? • Transportation • Urban Issues

It can be interesting to observe how even some of our most progressive and intelligent politicians seem to gloss over the importance of health to our society.

At the Portland City Club on December 5, 2008, Congressman Earl Blumenauer presented an eloquent and impassioned speech about how Portland, and Oregon, can help lead the way toward a more progressive America.  He presented several creative and specific ideas as to how local innovations in transportation, energy, and environmental conservation can be exported to Washington, D.C. to help our nation — and out planet.

“I’m hopeful that we’re able to provide leadership right here in Oregon to point the way to jump start the economy while we save the planet. Portland was the first city in the US with a comprehensive energy policy, (and Oregon was the) first state in the union to have multimodal comprehensive statewide transportation plan.”

“People in our community drive twenty percent less than the national average,” he said. “We’re off the charts in terms of cycling. And some people can even walk to work.”

But when he spoke about Portland being the bicycle capital, he said “this used to be fun stuff. It used to be healthy. It was a neighborhood amenity. But we couldn’t have put 72,000 people at the Waterfront Park for Barack Obama if 8,000 people didn’t ride bicycles last summer.”

True enough. But might Congressman Blumenauer’s inspiring words have unintentionally revealed something about the value that most of us place on the public’s health?

Is it merely “fun stuff”?

Or is the health of the public something more?

Does a society of healthy people mean there are more qualified and productive workers from which employers can draw?

Does a society of healthy young people mean less public money will be spent on the expensive healthcare services and procedures for people affected by heart disease, cancer, diabetes and other conditions that are spawned by sedentary lifestyles and bad diets?

Does a healthy society translate to a larger pool of intelligent individuals to help lead the innovations that the Congressman references?

What about national security? Aren’t our soldiers supposed to be healthy?

Isn’t a society with relatively fewer health disparities, one with fewer economic disparities, and therefore a society that is less prone to violence and crime?

If the answer is yes to all of these questions, then isn’t it time we begin to highlight - and emphasize - the value we place on health in our society?