Digital Ink Los Angeles

Martin Luther King, Jr., had a dream, and it wasn’t that we would all have equality under the laws and resources of health-care. But, he might have had some ideas for the frivolous rhetoric surrounding the attempted implementation of health-care reform.

It’s been 46 years — to the day — since MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech, which challenged similar opposition to the Civil Rights Movement of his time.

Citizens think that an endowment of freedom is similar to the value of their insurance — even though the health-insurance industry and health-care system are antiquated, fruitless institutions. Don’t take what these citizens have, because fear dictates a hoarding effect and vehement defense of their nearly useless insurance. Even health-care co-ops would be a better, cheaper alternative to current health-care malfeasance and impotence.

Reality is that the great U.S. of A. CAN’T AFFORD to maintain the status quo.

With banks continuing to sputter and stall, a debt-laden Chinese relationship, and the rocketing price of health-care, a managed, regulated, and reformed health-care system is necessary. Just like Civil Rights was necessary, though many opposed it at the time. Ironically, many of these same folks don’t speak of this opposition to Civil Rights, but find new glory in the raucous Town Hall Meetings politicians have been hosting during Congress’s August recess.

Dreams of Civil Rights. Hope for Health-Care Reform. Progress with an emerging New America. And the Reality of a bi-partisan battle that has less to do with health-care and a healthy economy than the liberal vs. conservative bickering that muddies the water and pisses on the party. Tea Party Patriots? Digital Ink declines any invite to myopic ignorance.

The following quote from the 2008 Nobel Prize-winning economist, Princeton professor, and New York Times‘ columnist Paul Krugman sums it all up:

“At this point, all that stands in the way of universal health care in America are the greed of the medical-industrial complex, the lies of the right-wing propaganda machine, and the gullibility of voters who believe those lies.”

What would MLK say? Speak to the truth of the matter, and remove strong-principled beliefs in partisan politics for rational perception of a much-needed change. In order to emerge as a stronger, leaner, healthier nation, Health-Care Reform is necessary, just like Civil Rights are necessary. Anyone want to argue that? Ask MLK, he’ll tell you about his dream.

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Marathons are crazy. Although historically inaccurate, the legend of a Greek messenger running the 28 miles to Athens with news of the victory became the inspiration for this athletics event, introduced at the 1896 Athens Olympics, and originally run between Marathon and Athens. The essential element behind running — of any distance — is we used to track and hunt our prey by means of rapid bipedalism — hunting on the fly.

We humans are runners, certainly. Since the days of caves and spears, we’ve been of the predatory variety, inclined to chase down our prey and engage in its demise. But this takes stamina, healthy legs, and clear lungs. Watching Olympic Gold Medalist, Usain Bolt, is a study in human running at his or her finest — smooth, thunderous, power and grace. This biomechanical display also takes something else, and it’s physiological — short toes.

That’s right. The article in the April issue of SEED Magazine, states:

“Our toes, for instance, are shorter and stubbier than those of nearly all other primates, including chimpanzees, a trait that has long been attributed to our committed bipedalism. But a study published in the March issue of the Journal of Experimental Biology, by anthropologists Daniel Lieberman and Campbell Rolian, provides evidence that short toes make human feet exquisitely suited to substantial amounts of running.”

“In tests where 15 subjects ran and walked on pressure-sensitive treadmills, Lieberman and Rolian found that toe length had no effect on walking. Yet when the subjects were running, an increase in toe length of just 20 percent doubled the amount of mechanical work, meaning that the longer-toed subjects required more metabolic energy, and each footfall produced more shock.”

One of our little human quirks, the short-toed advantage, lends an ear to physical superiority in less-than-obvious ways, something pointed out in Malcolm Gladwell‘s New York Times Bestseller, Outliers. There are advantages in life that allow one to exist above and beyond your peers.

Cute little toes make you a better hunter. Imagine that. Back when we said, “Honey, I’m gonna run out and get some food,” you meant exactly that. That’s fast-food. I’ll take the short-toed special.