SAFETY AT ALL COSTS

In my view right now and all my days to follow, the safety freaks are at work right now snuffing the very life out of common sense. Whoever said that common sense was becoming uncommon more all the time has my vote.

I sometimes get the feeling that common sense doesn’t stand a chance against a full array of advisories from the politician who will vote for any piece of legislation that might put a few more ballots on his side of the electoral ledger. “To hell with what we’re doing to quality of life by looking for disaster under every bed and fear around every corner.”

This to all the so-called educators who have done away with games like tag and dodge ball. I’m sure there must be a contingent out there that pines for the day when all their students wear helmets at all times while in their charge.

Now add in a good share of Corporate America who owe a share of their bottom line to some safety gimmick. To all the insurance companies that write their policies on how safely they can chum you into leading your life so claims will be small and profits will be glorious. I think quite the opposite will happen as people drop their defenses so they’re unable to see danger when it’s staring them in the face.

Does anyone ask the disinfectant gang what’s the down side of all this washing and disinfecting? The gang is at the top of its game when it comes to teaching the public to believe that microbes of the most horrific kind lurk on every door handle, toilet seat, shopping cart… and that the only way to counter this unseen army of killers is with the constant washing of your hands. No more licking your fingers; God knows what they might have touched! And I suppose that it must follow that shaking hands will also be a huge no-no. Never mind that most bacteria and all their cousins are necessary for our well-being. The drug companies I’m sure don’t want to confuse the public with an admission that some microbes are necessary for our very existence and our absolutely necessary immune system.

Maybe there is still hope that common sense might yet carry the day. I was reading an article in the July edition of Bloomberg Businessweek titled “The Bacteria Solution.” A cosmetics startup knows that live microbes are the secret to healthier skin. Will anyone believe that? AOBiome is a biotech company whose signature product is a spray that when applied to your body helps the user’s dependence on soap diminish. If I peaked your interest then look for a spray bottle of Mother Dirt, a reference to the soil from which the key ingredient is derived. “Go Ahead, get a Little Dirty.”

Well the question becomes: is anybody interested? Early adopters have been mostly urban professionals. The inventor of Mother Dirt is one David Whitlock, an M.I.T. trained chemical engineer who watched a horse rolling in the dirt one day to clean itself. He reasoned that this behavior must be important to the health of the horse and maybe to humans as well. He started gathering soil samples, and growing bacteria in his basement. AOBiomes, he learned, convert the urea and ammonia in sweat, which is abrasive to the skin causing acne and irritations, into nitrite, which fights most bad bacteria and nitric oxide and has anti-inflammatory properties. Whitlock concluded that useful bacteria once lived on humans, too, at least until we began killing these useful bacteria with countless soaps, lotions and potions.

Just think- if this logical idea caught on in my drought-stricken state of California it might help fix our water problems. For me, that’s an “atta boy” to common sense.

See Ya,

Jack

P.S. Mr Whitlock has not taken a shower in 12 years and his friends say he looks great, and he smells perfectly fine.