Whatever happened to moderation?

I’m starting to think we’re turning into a generation of obsessive-compulsive worriers. Or at least the news media is doing its best to make that happen.  This morning I saw the fourth or fifth segment so far this summer on skin cancer with the recommendation that women apply sunscreen to their face and body and then makeup with sunscreen in it over that, cars should have tinted windows and you shouldn’t pick the window seat on an airplane.  While it’s true that skin cancer rates have risen for White people in the U.S., death rates have not.  And if you’re any other race there have been no statistical changes in detection or death. That’s not me talking, it’s the CDC. Isn’t anybody questioning what damage all these chemicals applied daily and avoidance are doing compared to some sun exposure? There are studies in progress that suggest a link between low sun exposure and developing MS. When it comes down to it, skin cancer is a lot easier to catch and treat. I’m not inclined to sit out and bake and I try to get sunscreen on for long days outside or at the beach. That seems to me to be the approach that feels right – I’ll take the risk that driving to the grocery store with untreated skin (and no makeup!) might backfire on me someday. My instinct says doing anything else would be more dangerous.

Whatever happened to preaching moderation? I guess it’s harder for the newscasters to look anxious while talking about not going to extremes. However, I think we all might have been healthier, mentally and physically, before we started competing for who can live the longest. All this worry can’t be good for us – is the goal to make it to 100 without skin cancer or to 98 without an ulcer?

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