My supervisor recently and jokingly (at least I hope) suggested that I regain all of the weight I’ve lost so that I can lose it again.  When I looked at her like she was certifiably insane, she explained that my company is going to begin some kind of wellness initiatives.  Whatever that means.  I joked that it’s too bad they weren’t retroactive and she laughed and then the subject got changed before I could ask for further details.

I also just got done reading an article about a bunch of smokers who have been suspended for being caught smoking on company property after signing something saying that they don’t use tobacco products.  Number one, they were probably desperate for a job, so of course they signed.  Number two, it’s possible that they signed it before they began using tobacco (which I would not doubt because it sounds like working for this company would be slightly stressful).  Number three, they were idiots for smoking on company property.  Number three, why the hell is it any company’s business what we do with our personal lives?

While companies have a right to hope that their employees will be as healthy as possible, there are a few little things in this country called free will and privacy.  And I’m becoming extremely disturbed by the way companies are infiltrating that personal space more and more.

I understand the rising costs of healthcare, but to be honest, I believe that that falls more on the healthcare industry than it does whether I smoke (I don’t) or am overweight (I am).  Think of the billions and billions of dollars they take in every month in premiums.  Think of the billions and billions of claims they refuse to honor.  Now think of the billions and billions in profits they are making.

My question is, why are we letting this continue?  Why hasn’t something been done to put a stop to the abuse of the healthcare system by the insurance companies themselves and why aren’t we doing something to stop our employers from slowly taking over our lives?  Welcome to Big Brother.  Apparently, while long past its projected start date, “1984” is still in the making.