MAHA Is a Role Model for America

By Jennifer Galardi, Contributor, The Kennedy Beacon

Recently, I had the honor and privilege of attending a roundtable with some key influencers and policy makers within the MAHA movement. As I looked around, I noticed the diversity in the room. And I mean diversity in the truest sense of the word – differences of thought and opinions as opposed to differences of external factors such as race or sex. I can guarantee you many sitting at that table would disagree with my stance on abortion or opinions of the role of the federal government. However, that day, everyone had one common goal – to help make Americans, particularly children, healthier.

As most everyone knows by now, our country is in a major health crisis. Statistics or hard data are almost unnecessary to prove what common sense shows. Just take a visit to your local airport. Americans are overweight and sick – not just physically, but mentally. I’d also argue spiritually but that is beyond the scope of HHS or any government agency. That responsibility lies within churches, synagogues, and other religious institutions, which sadly, are also in decline.

Every person at the roundtable discussion wanted to figure out why Americans are so unhealthy. Some were adamant that alleged carcinogens such as glyphosate and pesticides are the culprit. For others, vaccinations are the hill to die on. Still others blame subsidized agricultural crops such as soy, wheat, and corn, which has resulted in an astronomic increase in highly processed foods. All, to varying degrees, implicated the large pharmaceutical and food conglomerates and corporate greed.

The truth is that probably none of these are solely to blame and all are guilty to some degree. But unraveling the country’s health catastrophe will require not only every one in that room, but all those who support the MAHA mission.

What I find most astonishing is that within a very short time, a dialogue about health, once only found on the fringes, has now become mainstream. With new media’s help, terms such as metabolic dysfunction, insulin resistance, and corporate capture have been thrust into the vernacular of everyday Americans. In addition, myths about nutrition are now being dismantled, piece by piece, as more and more people question orthodoxies like the cholesterol theory of heart disease and the benefits of low fat diets. Although many continue to resist it, there is no denying the paradigm shift sweeping the nation, moving focus from infectious disease to chronic disease. To woo the most reluctant – those who continue to insist on the supremacy of an institutional vision of health – many of us are crossing party lines.

Sitting in that room, this was obvious to me. Most of us were more interested in finding solutions and synergy rather than harping on individual grievances. Everyone was respectful, despite fierce disagreements – proof that accomplishing the goal is more important than any one individual cause.

What is happening at the highest level of MAHA is a shining example of how our country, at its best, should operate. A leader provides vision, and those in support of that vision, despite their differences, come together to serve a greater good. The health of our nation and those who will inherit it is that higher good. It is worth the messiness, the debate, and even the political power plays that are intrinsic to the game.

The union of Donald J. Trump and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has proven that the traditional categories of “right” or “left” no longer define the divide. The split is now defined by those who refuse to do the hard work necessary to move beyond a broken, stagnant system of sick care and those willing to roll up their sleeves to create a new age of health and human flourishing.

Many of us have moved on from the old, stark binaries. It would be nice if the rest of the country could join us.