doctor

Such fond memories.
These simple joys my children will never
know. They cannot hear the outside
world, for they are wrapped in seven
metres of bubble wrap.
There is no outside, I whisper to my
son, and place another blanket over his
bubbly body.
So what has changed? When did
the Good Old Days become the
Boring Present?
Could it be that science and decades of
research have shown that UV rays are in
fact quite harmful and cause various skin
cancers? Heavens, no, don’t be silly. It’s
that gosh darn FUN POLICE.
Australia and New Zealand have the
highest rates of skin cancer in the world,
and in 2011, skin cancer was the cause
of over 2000 deaths.
Nobody is arguing that cancer is fun, but
taking simple steps to prevent ill health
isn’t ruining your freedoms.
“Uh oh, here comes the FUN POLICE!”
shouts a libertarian, busy lighting the
fireworks atop his toddler’s birthday cake.
“Why do the SAFETY STASI have to
RUIN EVERYTHING?” asks a busy mum,
riding helmetless down a freeway with
her newborn strapped to her chest.
“They’re just a pack of GOODTIME
ASSASSINS,” they declare, cutting down
the pool fence because fun knows no
boundaries. Hop in, baby Kira, the water
is warm!
Who are these supposed fun police that
are lambasted constantly? It’s actual
medical professionals and specialist
researchers such as the Cancer Council.
It seems to be easier to complain about
political correctness gone mad than
accept that basic precautions can
improve our health and safety.
Maybe it’s boring to look after yourself
and think about consequences. Maybe
it’s not fun to slop some sunscreen on
your back or pop on a legionnaire’s hat
(the most fashionable of hats).
But it’s smart.
These days, if anyone’s gone mad it’s
the person bragging about her peeling
sunburn. That’s just bonkers.
Deirdre Fidge is a Melbourne-based
comedian, writer and social worker.
This article originally appeared on
ABC’s The Drum. dr.
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Deirdre Fidge’s column references an
article that ran in the Herald Sun on
26 January 2016 ‘Political correctness
has stolen our kids’ identity’ in which
the author, Elise Elliott, fondly recalls
the ubiquitous annual sunburn.
“What’s an Aussie summer without
a second-degree skin peel? Back in
the good old days there was no such
thing as Sun Protection Factor. It was
called sun-tanning lotion; Reef Deep
Suntan Oil if you were posh.”
AMA (NSW) President, Clin A/Prof
Saxon Smith’s tweets following
Ms Elliott’s article highlighted the
importance of being sunsafe and were
widely liked and retweeted.
Email : marketing@etranscriptions.com.au
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