Morbidly Obese Governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie
What is the connection between gluttony and the GOP? Why are the most obese states also the reddest? Why is gluttony overlooked (even though it is a deadly sin) when gay marriage and masterbation receive so much attention by the GOP?
For the record, Taft was 100 lbs overweight – Christie is 300 lbs overweight. 100% over ideal weight is considered morbid. So Taft was fat, but not morbid.
Seven Deadly Sins
The 7 Deadly Sins, also known as the Capital Vices or Cardinal Sins, is a classification of objectionable vices that have been used since early Christian times to educate and instruct followers concerning fallen humanity’s tendency to sin. The currently recognized version of the list is usually given as wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony. Absent from this list is any mention of homosexuality or masterbation.
Gluttony
Derived from the Latin gluttire, meaning to gulp down or swallow, gluttony (Latin, gula) is the over-indulgence and over-consumption of anything to the point of waste. In the Christian religions, it is considered a sin because of the excessive desire for food or its withholding from the needy.
Depending on the culture, it can be seen as either a vice or a sign of status. Where food is relatively scarce, being able to eat well might be something to take pride in. But in an area where food is routinely plentiful, it may be considered a sign of self-control to resist the temptation to over-indulge.
Medieval church leaders took a more expansive view of gluttony, arguing that it could also include an obsessive anticipation of meals, and the constant eating of delicacies and excessively costly foods. Aquinas went so far as to prepare a list of six ways to commit gluttony, including:
- Praepropere – eating too soon
- Laute – eating too expensively
- Nimis – eating too much
- Ardenter – eating too eagerly (burningly)
- Studiose – eating too daintily (keenly)
- Forente – eating wildly (boringly)
Gluttony and the GOP Electorate
The connection between the GOP and gluttony is undeniable. Below is a chart of that illustrates the the close link between the average obesity and overall health of a state and their voting patterns in the 2008 presidential election.
The seven states with the highest level of obesity all voted for McCain by double digits while the seven least obese states voted for Obama by double digits (with the exception of Colorado). Not surprisingly, the seven most obese states are all in the top 10 most unhealthy states while the opposite is true of the least obese states.
Gluttonous Leaders and Commentators
An amazing number of GOP leaders and commentators are obese. With the exception of Mike Huckabee (who has been able to bring his weight down at times), all the people shown in the photo below exhibit levels of obesity that suggests gluttonous behavior. This is not to suggest that there are not Democratic leaders and commentators that could stand to lose a few pounds, but the prevalence of obesity is notable.
First, the headline is all wrong. Have you not seen the former presidents of the USA? William Howard Taft? Grover Cleveland? You have clearly not done statistical analyses because you do not base a conclusion on 5-7 data points. How about some realism here?
As mentioned in the post, Taft was fat, but nor morbidly obese.
Fair point on the title of the post (was meant to be tongue and cheek). The gist of the post was more about the fact that he is a member of the rapidly increasing population segment of the morbidly obese, which is concentrated in states in which overwhelmingly voted for McCain in the last election. The statistical analysis for that is pretty obvious.
Articles and tweets of this sort do nothing to advance the political discourse in this country. I’m a centrist myself and think we should take the high road and be better than stuff like this. This is what the radicals of each party do, not the center.
Besides there are so many more, better things to bring up about the “right.”
That is strange, I don’t find this post offensive at all. It is speaking to a very legitimate point that Christie himself has brought up many times. Some people do consider weight as an issue. For both the ‘control’ issue and the issue of sin. This post doesn’t call Christie names or insult him, it simply lays out – what is gluttony, why is it considered a sin, and it poses the apparent contradiction that a party that has a reputation for being more religious tolerates obesity (in fact it is an epidemic).
“Why is gluttony overlooked (even though it is a deadly sin) when gay marriage and masterbation…”
It’s masturbation, come on people let’s get it together.