I Dare You to Drink the Vinegar

Unfortunately too many people believe that one's health is determined solely by personal choice.  Research supports that this is not the case, but rather, that the social conditions into which one is born into and lives are inextricably connected to how they experience health.  This is not common knowledge but it should be.   Health Is Not Just About Choice The idea that health is solely determined by willpower or lifestyle is comforting because it suggests that everyone starts from the same place and has the same opportunities. But that simply is not true. Canadians do not enter life on a level playing field, and they do not move through it with equal access to income, housing, safety, or opportunity. When someone is working two precarious jobs, struggling to pay rent, or living in overcrowded or unsafe housing, “choosing” to eat well, rest, or exercise is not just hard, it is often impossible. The stress of these conditions does not just feel bad; it literally gets...

     The other night I was sitting in a pub with my husband and some friends and the the issue of fully funded public higher education came up.  A friend was making the argument that if the Canadian government decided to fully fund all post secondary institutions then everyone would have a degree or post secondary credential of some sort and then no one would want to do jobs like cleaning toilets.  This was an interesting argument that indicated the lack of knowledge and understanding about formal education and how it works in and how it effects a society.  My first response was that equal access and funding does not mean the same thing as everyone being granted a degree.  The reality that there are different levels of motivation, ability and desire to pursue post-secondary education would continue to exist but there would be more equal access to formal education.  In my later reflections on t...