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What an antiseptic world we live in. Seems like we can't hug our children OR punish them. We don't shake hands with strangers and the only one we can have safe sex with is ourselves. Our soaps are all
antibacterial and our products are judged by the number of germs they kill. Granted. We are getting sick less often and living longer, but what kind of existence is that?!
I'll tell you.
It's one long and lonely, fearful life and it gets worse if you get one of those obsessive-compulsive disorders and need to wash your hands until they bleed. You notice a lot more of those disorders
these days? That's because we're all scared. Of what, you ask? Germs? Bacteria? The very things that have helped us live on this planet for millions of years? The very things that created us in the first place?!
(and I don't want to hear from you creationists on this one because part of your belief is that humans came from DIRT!)
But I digress............
The question is: Have we gone overboard? Okay, my children live in a clean environment and I disinfect and deodorize like the rest of this society, but, WHY?
Fear.
What if they get sick? What will I do? Will their immune systems survive it? Maybe not. We have protected our children and ourselves so well that their immune systems haven't built up to the point of
fighting off anything stronger than the common cold.
Now, no one is suggesting that we go back to living in mud huts and eating raw meat with our hands, but folks, TOUCH THE MONEY. DON'T WEAR THE SURGICAL GARB JUST TO USE A PUBLIC RESTROOM.
Okay?
And don't pass on all of your phobias on to innocent children. They have enough to worry about as they grow up as it is.
I tell you I have seen (with my own eyes) parents actually open the rest room door in a nice restaurant with a napkin. I have seen them admonish their children for simply touching their own face during
dinner. Seems to me that those of you who have children should know about this stuff by now. My own child has picked up old candy that was stuck to grocery store floor, put it in her mouth, and lived. All right, it
was disgusting and I made her spit it out, but still, she didn't even get a sniffle.
The question remains: Have we gone too far?
Hmmmm....We sterilize the equipment to administer the lethal injection to convicted criminals sentenced to death. We use little pieces of tissue to keep our asses from touching the toilet seat believing
it is some sort of major "barrier" against germs. We add enough chlorine to our drinking water to make your teeth whiter and then we filter it back out again!
Oh, yeah. Too far.
It is a shame the way we isolate ourselves from other people, nature, and even ourselves. Stop the fear and obsessive hand-washing. Right now: Hug somebody. Go to a neighbor or even a hospital for AIDS
patients and then show them the world hasn't abandoned them. Hey, nobody is asking you to trade bodily fluids, people, just shake a hand, touch a shoulder.
For cripes, sake pat a back at work. Yes, at work. Oh I know, lawsuits. (another topic I will rant on later) Just remember to pat on the back. Not the back SIDE. I know we are not supposed to touch
coworkers but I say that a pat on the back is well-deserved by many who don't get it. These people wind up feeling unappreciated and will soon become resentful. Next thing you know, they show up at the office with
an unregistered M-16 and take out six people before shooting themselves. See what you could have prevented? Just a pat on the back.
A hug. A handshake.
Hell, let the kids play in the mud you can always hose 'em off before dinner...try throwing a mud ball yourself! It's fun, it comes off with water and it's free. Free.
Eat those barbecued ribs with your hands, for god sake, that is what the bone is for.
Let loose! Sit on the toilet without fear.
Oh, don't let this give you an excuse to do unprotected sex because that causes slow withering and painful death.
And don't pick your nose. It's disgusting.
Readers Comments:
Not that I an excessively religious in that context. But here I think it says it all. Have you seen the commercial where this insane woman is putting "Don't touch"
stickers all over her house and it is accepted as being okay? I don't wipe my toilet flush handle except every other day when cleaning the bathroom. My children and I touch everything in our house including
our three cats. My children and I are still alive. Wow a miracle!!!
Love this rant!!
Janine
Other Articles by Tina Urbik:
Stop and Smell the Apples
Made in America or Not
6 AM
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