The concept of personal accountability has taken a turn for the worse and is near death.
The announcement that Krispy Kreme was offering a free donut every day through the end of 2021 to anyone who gets the Covid-19 vaccine set social media ablaze with condemnation of the offer because of the obesity problem in America. The offer to give free free donuts to those who are fully vaccinated sparked comments about how unhealthy donuts are and that it was a terrible idea.
On “The Late Show,” Stephen Colbert said: “Krispy Kreme is offering free donuts to anyone who’s been vaccinated. Which is great news for anyone who got the shot but still has a death wish.”
Popular podcaster Bridget Phetasy tweeted, “Obesity is one of the primary factors that affects your response to COVID and these F*****S are giving away a donut a day through the rest of 2021to anyone who gets vaccinated.”
There was a lot of positive reaction to the free donut giveaway, but the surprising negative criticism carried the simple theme of “Krispy Kreme” is “selling poison to people.”
America is plagued with an obesity epidemic, and nowhere is the obesity problem more obvious than in the city of New Orleans and the state of Louisiana. Yes, obesity poses a serious health risk, but to use that health risk to declare donuts “poison” is extreme.
Donuts are not exactly health food and are not part of a nutritious diet, but donuts are also not poison. The condemnation of Krispy Kreme is another dagger in the heart of personal accountability.
The critics of the Krispy Kreme promotion are using it to promote their personal crusade against obesity. I applaud their efforts, in general, but to equate the offer of a free donut every day with encouraging obesity is beyond absurd.
Personal accountability is being destroyed by the idea that an offer or an opportunity equals a mandate to do something. The offer of a free donut from Krispy Kreme is not an order to eat a donut every day but just another option in life. We have reached a point of oversensitivity where the world should be sterile of any temptation to those who might be tempted.
If a promotion offering a free donut leads any individual to become obese - the repsonsibility for becoming obese falls solely on the individual. The world is filled with temptations for everyone, but we do not consider banning everything that could be a problem for certain individuals. Alcoholics must deal with the temptation to have a drink every day of their lives and the temptations are everywhere around them. We don’t ban the sale or the display of liquor because some people have a disease that makes it impossible for them to drink in moderation. If someone decides to drink we hold them accountable.
In a world shrouded in temptations to overeat, Krispy Kreme’s promotion of offering a free donut every day to anyone fully vaccinated for COVID-19 is as ridiculous as banning Easter because it might encourage someone to eat too many Peeps or chocolate bunnies.
Those who are bashing Krispy Kreme are laying the groundwork for lawsuits holding the company responsible if anyone eats a donut a day and wants to blame their obesity on that. Or should someone die of a heart attack because of their obesity, the family would blame Krispy Kreme from contributing to the death by offering a free donut every day.
Even if donuts were not free they are not expensive to the point where everyone doesn’t have access to donuts. The diminishing respect and demand for personal accountability in America today is one of the lowest common denominators of the breakdown of society. And as long as Americans are given the message that they are never to blame for their bad decisions - we will continue to deteriorate as a nation.
