Earlier this year, President Obama finally managed to have some form of health care passed through Congress. Now while this is all fine and dandy, I think Mr. Obama is missing something a little more important here. The debate should not have been over health care, but rather health. Health care for “everyone” is fine, but why not try to improve a person’s health instead of just allowing more people to improve theirs after something has already happened?

That is where I am confused. Whether a person likes Obama or not, one must admit that President Obama is far and away one of the brightest individuals in the country, so I cannot understand why he is unable to see this issue, or why he chooses to ignore it. If people were healthier, health care would not have been such a major issue, and who knows what could have been done with all of that time if Obama had been working on other issues in the public agenda.

I understand many that conflicts might ensue over a health bill of some sort, but most of the debate would be over defining what health is rather than whether the bill should be passed or not. Sure, some might say the bill is discriminatory, but in this day and age, what bill isn’t? Protecting a minority group is discrimination, making all public buildings wheelchair accessible is discrimination, and yes, a war against obesity would also be discrimination, but I am not here to preach about what is and what is not discrimination. I am here to say that the government missed the big picture.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, four out of the top ten causes for death in America are related to a poor diet. How on Earth was that ignored in the health care debate? I might not be the first person to mention the whole health over health care idea, but a reiteration seems appropriate considering the facts, so if by some off chance a Congressman or Obama happens to read this, maybe they will consider trying to make America healthier instead of just trying to keep America alive.