I’LL JUST SAY IT: MAHA IS NOT MAGA

A lot of things have changed over the past 15-20 years, on numerous political issues:

• Free speech used to be a big deal for the left. Now it’s a big deal for the right.
• The left used to decry racial segregation. Now they rejoice in it.
• Religious fanatics on the right used to be mocked for their moral outrage. Now it’s the woke activists on the left.
• The left used to love electric vehicles. Not so much anymore.
• The left used to get offended if a gay male was called a “queer” or “woman.” They now force you to do so, if you want to keep your corporate job.
• The left used to tell the government to keep out of the bedroom. Now they support sending free condoms to Gaza.
• The left used to mock religion. Now they pretend to be Jewish so they can promote terrorists.

And now there’s a change in dynamics regarding public health.

Conservatives and many independents used to despise the idea of the federal government getting involved with health, be it hospital protocol, funding for controversial procedures, insurance or administrative structure. This distrust also included most libertarians, who have long supported the decriminalization of substances—especially marijuana—and who have called for the abolishment of agencies such as the FDA, which have overregulated the approval process for new drugs and food products.

The whole idea of banning food dyes, super-sized menu options and trans fats, used to be something that only the San Francisco City Council would entertain. It wasn’t too long ago that New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg tried to prohibit the sale of sugary soft drinks over sixteen ounces. He saw immediate pushback not only from the entire soda industry, but almost universally from NYC residents and the media. I personally remember Bloomberg in an interview with Sanjay Gupta, during which he compared the availability of two-liters with his struggle of eating just one Cheez-It cracker when an entire bowl sits in front of him. Despite excessive sodium intake being a risk factor for stroke and cardiovascular disease, there were no citywide campaigns to ban salty snacks.

True to the form of conservative values, this defiance against the government’s mission to “help” was guided by prioritization of individual free will, free market economics and skepticism toward bureaucrats who try to solve complicated problems.

These values were so aligned with Americans on the right, that King of the Hill took this view with an episode entitled, Trans-Fascism.

It wasn’t that conservatives were cheering on cancer or diabetes. They believed in the same science as Morgan Spurlock for the most part. Yes, if you eat nothing but McDonald’s for all three meals over thirty days, you will develop some adverse health effects—just as hot McDonald’s coffee will be hot.

And yes, a fuckton of products in America’s food supply are pumped up with preservatives and are processed to the point of requiring legally creative messaging on their packaging.

No one has a problem when this information gets out. No one is shocked when a 400-lb behemoth loses a toe, and there’s never been much debate over the benefits of consuming vegetables or lean meat, as long as citizens are allowed to choose what goes into their bodies.

President Trump’s appointing of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. comes at an interesting point in U.S. history. DOGE was established to find any and all instances of taxpayer funding that can be cut. Linda McMahon was hired to the Dept. of Education solely to oversee its dismantling. The Dept. of Health and Human Services, while it still exists, does need someone to serve as its secretary.

What Kennedy personally wants to happen with school lunches, vaccines, seed oils or anything else is of no concern. Americans are supposed to believe in free speech, as well as the bodily autonomy of all individuals. Many voters, in fact, are in love with all of his proposed policies and want them implemented. Get out of the way, loser. We’re Making American Healthy Again! How dare you disagree. What are you, a groomer?

And that is why we’re in this situation to begin with.

I’m sure someone else must have noticed this before, but let me have my moment in calling it “Jeremy’s Principle.” It simply states that, in an elected representative government, any policy enacted by one political party can and will be exploited by another political party in the future.

Only a few months ago, Americans were facing the possibility of mandated green initiatives that would outlaw gas stoves and plastic straws. There was talk of expanded protections for men accessing women’s spaces. Right now, there could have been additional lawfare, with Kamala Harris’ DOJ encroaching on local governments. This very real threat of tyranny is precisely why Trump won again in November.

Now that the pendulum has swung back in MAGA’s favor, one would think a return to equilibrium would be in order. Instead, there is an inundation on the right of everyone and their grandmother proposing their own regulation of choice. Instead of encouraging innovation in the food and beverage industry, or cutting FDA red tape, there is already federal pressure on privately-owned restaurants to change their practices. For some reason, MAHA sycophants forget there is a difference between something being healthier for you, and something being coerced into your life. A nice-to-have is not necessarily a need-to-have. There’s finally an understanding that even doctors, including Anthony Fauci, can be compromised, mislead the public or simply get things wrong when it comes to managing public health. Why, then, is it suddenly okay to entrust some random dude with a famous last name to handle the country’s nutrition?

But Jeremy’s Principle will be ignored at the peril of Trump’s MAGA itself. Regardless of today’s societal trends or anything else that affects presidential elections, there will be times when the GOP is not in power. Even when it is, someone like Trump or Reagan usually comes along only after decades of corruption. Whether it happens in 2028, 2032, or later, at some point there will be a democrat or a similar party in the White House. For all we know, it could be someone more power-hungry than Joe Biden or Hillary. Why in the hell would anyone on the right want to hand over to them a metaphorical credit card with such a high spending limit? Why is growing the federal government—and increasing its power over the populace—such a great idea, as long as it’s doing something you like? One day, RFK, Jr.’s supporters will revel in American Coca-Cola using real cane sugar again. The next, they’ll be wondering why a future libtard in charge is forcing them to mask up for yet another exploited pandemic.

How, then, should food quality be protected? If you’re reading The Hebrew Conservative, then chances are you’ll find the answer right under your big Jewish nose.

In the U.S., the majority of items purchased at your grocery store will feature a “K,” “U” or possibly some tiny Hebrew lettering on the label. Some labels will even specify a “kosher for Passover” certification. This labeling is done under the authority of various unions and organizations that determine how stringently the kashrut standards are applied in the manufacturing process.

The government does not dictate these standards. The Union of Orthodox Congregations, for instance, decides whether or not to give their stamp of approval. The food manufacturer decides whether or not they even care about the certification. And the consumer decides whether or not they adhere to a kosher diet in the first place.

True, there are laws on the books against the fraudulent labeling of food as kosher, because it’s illegal to mislabel food in any way. However, it doesn’t take the FDA to enforce these laws. Mislabeling food with a kosher label is already the unauthorized use of an organization’s branding. And so, there exists an entire system of food categorization that is trusted by millions and requires no MAHA policies.

The answer to unhealthy citizens is not more government control. There are already several sources of information available on healthy brands and ingredients, and Americans can decide for themselves which are most trustworthy. It’s not like politicians have provided the most accurate guidance anyway. Maybe the real problem is that taxpayers are held responsible for the poor health decisions of other people. Maybe Congress, cabinet members and unelected agents of the nanny state aren’t the best at sorting out any of this. Just as Trump is cutting down other federal departments and agencies, he should do the same to HHS and the FDA. At a minimum, health policy can be relegated to the state level.

And who knows, maybe that is his plan all along, with Kennedy only serving as a placeholder while details are being hashed out. It’s just frustrating to watch good ideas like MAGA take ten steps back. At least those steps can still lose us some calories.