By Jeff Watson
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE
They say the night was hot and humid as my dad began running red lights through the city. Hurrying from their little triplex in Southeast Washington, D.C., my folks were on a beeline to the Old Georgetown Hospital across town. As I came into the world, Americans were wrapping up their fi rst decade beyond the Second World War and Mr. Eisenhower’s economy was on the rise.
Back then, most of my parents’ friends were vitally interested in sports—but primarily as spectators. Phys ed was for kids. With the growing job market, adults found themselves working longer hours and driving greater distances to work. Thousands spent their scant leisure time cheering for Rocky Marciano in the heavyweight ring or for Duke Snider and his Brooklyn Dodgers.
Health care in the 1950s
On the health care front, after a generation of steady increases, polio began to decline—thanks to that ounce of prevention: childhood vaccination. Looking back, Kenneth Cooper, M.D, reminds us that we were spending $12 billion a year on health care; yet this “father of aerobics” reports that doctors were still advising heart attack patients to rest—not to exert themselves. Cooper claims it was rare for physicians in the 1950s to discuss the link between diet, exercise, and longevity.
Now we spend more than $2 trillion a year on health care, but are we wiser than we were 50 years ago? Though the U.S. has the finest medical system in the world, her citizens rank 37th in overall health, according to the World Health Organization.
The Hebrew prophet, Jeremiah, warns us against self-deception: “The heart is deceitful above all things …. Who can understand it?” One of the Christian apostles reports that: “… physical training is of some value,” so long as our spirit governs our body—rather than the opposite.