Fit for Life: Be Independent

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Saturday, June 29, 2019

Matt Espeut, GoLocalWorcester Health +Lifestyle Contributor

It’s the weekend before July 4, the day we celebrate Independence Day.

But what does that really mean?

•Is it another chance to get to the beach?

•Is it just another paid holiday to you?

•Is it just another excuse to sleep late?

•Is it just another summer tradition and an excuse to drink beer and eat hot dogs?

Let’s discuss what it really means, and if we should be recognizing it as a significant holiday or just another day off.

The Declaration of Independence

We celebrate American Independence Day on the Fourth of July every year.

We think of July 4, 1776, as a day that represents the Declaration of Independence and the birth of the United States of America as an independent nation.

Why did the American colonies choose to declare independence?

The American colonies chose to declare independence from Great Britain for many reasons.

•They believed the British were treating the colonists unfairly.

•The British passed many tax laws that impacted the colonists.

•The colonists had no representatives in Parliament to vote on or discuss these laws.

•In English government, the people had to have representatives who could vote on taxes that would affect them.

•The colonists had no such voice in British government.

So, the basic premise was to secure our freedom, and have the ability to create laws and govern our people the way we saw fit.

This was obviously a big deal in the history of the United States, and to this day it sets us apart from other nations around the world.

We enjoy many freedoms and are allowed to do a wide array of things that could land you in prison, or dead if they were acted upon in other countries such as Russia, or North Korea.

Freedom is priceless however we still need rules and structure because some Americans don’t always have enough common sense to do the right thing.

What exactly is the right thing?

To be of sound body and mind and take care of your fellow man, is a simple description of what doing the right thing is, however it doesn’t always work out that way.

Laws and rules need to be put in place and enforced mainly to protect us.

Laws for safety such as seatbelts, and drunk driving are established because stupidity is rapid amongst humans, and without laws, we would see many more unnecessary casualties.

In my opinion, there are some things we take advantage of and we shouldn’t be free to decide, and I would be in favor of enacting laws to forbid these actions.

Drinking soda: There is no valid argument that we should be free to consume beverages full of sugar and artificial ingredients.

It causes obesity and diabetes in millions of people on an annual basis.

This not only affects the user, but puts a strain on the entire medical system, clogging it up with millions of treatable diseases, making it impossible for some people to afford health insurance.

The same goes for smoking cigarettes. It has the same effect on our medical system, and it harms innocent people that are in the vicinity of smokers.

Those are just a few superficial acts that in my opinion should be outlawed, however we live in a free country, so we can do whatever we want, even if it harms us, and causes a domino effect and harms other innocent people that don’t partake in such actions.

I love our country and am grateful that we have the freedoms to be in charge of our own destiny.

We can eat what we want, buy what we want, earn as much as we want, and nobody has control over us.

We pay taxes so the government can provide us with infrastructure and support our military to protect us.

We aren’t perfect, and some things aren’t agreeable to everyone, however we have the freedom to speak up and be heard.

So, enjoy your freedom, but use common sense.

If something that you do causes harm to you or your fellow man, don’t do it.

Laws shouldn’t need to be in place in order for us Americans to do the right thing.

That should come automatically.

We are independent, civilized, and should know better.

Be free, have fun, and stay safe.

Matt Espeut, GoLocal's Health & Lifestyle Contributor has been a personal trainer and health & fitnesss consultant for over 25 years. He is the owner of Fitness Profiles, a one on one, and small group personal training company, as well as Providence Fit Body Boot Camp, located at 1284 North Main St., on the Providence/Pawtucket line. You can reach Matt at (401) 453-3200; on Facebook at "Matt Espeut", and on Twitter at @MattEspeut. "We’re all in this life together – let’s make it a healthy one.