Have Your Cake and Don’t Eat It
The Issue:
Following the shocking public collapse of a teenage girl with anorexia on @@CAPITAL@@ Main Street, national attention has been drawn to the growing prevalence of eating disorders and related hospitalizations in @@NAME@@. Now the government is being called upon to get the nation out of this pickle.
The Debate:
1. "Here’s some food for thought," says psychologist @@RANDOMNAME@@, handing you a copy of @@HIS@@ new book Minding your Munching. "Eating disorders like anorexia nervosa are much more common then they seem. They’re often the result of low self-esteem and other psychological problems. Subsidizing psychiatric treatments and encouraging citizens to attend therapy could go a long way toward preventing eating disorders. Now, why don’t you lie down on this couch and tell me how you feel…"
Effect: going on a diet is a cause for therapy
2. "Wake up and smell the coffee!" cries @@RANDOMFEMALENAME@@, mother of the collapsed teen. "The true cause of these eating disorders are the unrealistic beauty standards promoted by the fashion industry. Every model has a teeny-tiny waist, and it’s ridiculous! My poor daughter felt she’d never be pretty unless she was severely underweight. Require fashion designers to promote their clothes with models with realistic bodily proportions. The fashion industry might take a hit, but you can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs!"
Effect: couch potatoes are the hottest new runway models
3. "Please darling, regulating fashion is so last season," scoffs fashion magazine editor @@RANDOMNAME@@, strutting into your office in a stylish plum suit. "Fashion is an art form. Government interference will only spoil it! We want to empower people with chic clothes, and if they feel inferior to the beauty we create, well, that’s not really our problem, is it dear? So why don’t you support the fashion industry, hmm? My magazine will even provide you with something to replace that monstrosity you’re currently wearing. How would you feel about an olive tailcoat?"
Effect: @@LEADER@@ was recently named "Most Stylish Politician in @@REGION@@"
4. "I’d take it all with a grain of salt," interjects your Minister of Health @@RANDOMNAME@@. "The obvious solution to eating disorders in to ensure every @@DEMONYM@@ gets enough calories and nutrients. Simply make it a law that every citizen eats their 2000 calories and that’d be the end of anorexia! As the icing on the cake, this would also allow us to prevent people from becoming overweight. Of course, it’ll require a lot of government oversight, and control of the nation’s food supply, but my department could handle it if given more funding."
Effect: government officials regularly join in on family dinners to ensure everyone eats
5th Draft
4th Draft
3rd Draft
2nd Draft
1st Draft