The Oprahization of America
17 June 2009
Editor, The New York Times
620 Eighth Avenue
New York, NY 10018
To the Editor:
Maureen Dowd wants President Obama to display his healthy, low-fat eating habits more publicly ("Hold the Fries," June 17). The idea is that Our Leader's ostentatious display of his preferred diet will inspire ordinary Americans to eat better.
What has become of Americans? How different are we now from Louis XIV's French subjects who gazed in awe upon him at his table? And are we so childish that our dietary choices are directed by political celebrities?
If we Americans are indeed such mindless lemmings as Ms. Dowd assumes, I'd prefer that Pres. Obama spend lots of time being filmed gobbling Big Macs while, between bites, he puffs on his cigarette and insists that each of us take control of our own individual lives.
We would do well to reject the stupid cult of celebrity that now surrounds high government officials.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
Posted by Don Boudreaux on
Sunday November 1, 2009 at 2:24pm