Health Beat
In this era of polarization, why do people hang onto beliefs that aren't true? It's not new to the time we are living in. It's been going on for as long as humans walked this earth. At its heart is the ability to cooperate and work in groups — essentially fostering survival. When we were out hunting for dinner every night, that kind of community kept people alive. But even back then, there were problems with not broadening one's view. Perhaps the bear you were told was your best bet for dinner was actually sick and consuming it would endanger your health. Setting your sights on another meal would have been safer, healthier, and smarter, but you were locked in with a thought process that was hard to shake and, moreover, might put you outside your circle. So you follow along and craft mental scenarios to support hunting that bear. Breaking free from the group brings the potential to be ostracized. It leaves you feeling alone. You have to build a new scenario to support your new path. So the old adage, 'go along to get along' provides comfort. But at some point an individual, a group, even a society, has to wipe the fog of 'go along' from their glasses to see what is happening. Granted, there's a school of thought that says everyone's reality is a bit different, colored by their life experiences. But at some point, there has to be a paradigm shift, so we can survive. Living in a tunnel only provides light at one end. Many years ago, I interviewed Dr. William Castelli, a former director of the Framingham Heart Study, an ongoing study of what ails our heart health. He was preaching a more varied diet. As he told me, people eat the same 10 foods week after week. If two families would share recipes, that would not only open them to a much broader diet, it had the potential to improve their health. As we enter the new year, spread your wings, embrace new ideas, try something different. At the very least you'll have new stories to share with friends and loved ones.
Benita Zahn, Dps-bioethics
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