On judgment, common sense

By RAY DAY
Guest columnist

March 02, 2008 05:32 pm

— As one who is always asking why things are done like they are, this week I am going to give you some of the things I find doubts about.
How many times have you heard or read that something is good or bad for you, and a few years down the line, those same bad things are suddenly good for you? I bet you know of several, just like I do.
How many times have you read that a certain food has so many calories and should be eaten with restraint so that you won’t put on those extra pounds on that body you look at in the mirror? How many times have you taken a medicine that supposedly is to help you get your system in check, and then read what the side effects are?
I’ll bet once you find that out, you stop taking that medicine, even though it cost you a fortune and you have to dispose of it. You can’t give it to someone who could use it because then you are breaking a law.
How many times have you seen where a friend has bought a new home with all the goodies, although that same person has no way to pay for it if he loses his job. The same goes with a vehicle with all the trimmings. You listen to the sales pitch and you buy, even though you know you can’t afford it because, at the time, you are riding on cloud nine, listening to someone who just wants the commission sale.
We are a group wanting to believe everything that sounds good, without looking way down the line to see if there will not be problems doing it.
Every day, I will be sitting watching the television, and I will see lawyers telling people that if you think you have been done wrong, to come see them and they will get you what is coming to you. In reality what is coming to you is a lot of headaches paying that lawyer for nothing.
My reasoning is that if you have been done wrong, you will have already gone to a reputable lawyer to get justice. Lawyers who advertise on TV are just like the ones who follow the ambulances to get customers.
How about the medicine ads where the companies advertise a new medicine and tell the TV viewer to ask your doctor about it. My reasoning is that if the doctor thinks that a medicine might be good for you, he or she will have already prescribed it for you.
What the ad does is to put doubt in your mind that you are not treated with the right medicine. My thought here is to trust your doctor first and not believe the ads on TV. Your family doctor is the one that knows best about your particular illness.
At one time I heard that coffee was not good for you if you use it in large quantities. It will keep you awake at night, and your body will suffer from that. This is probably true with a lot of people, but in my case, a cup of coffee helps me rest enough to fall asleep. Matter of fact, I have restless legs. It bothers me until I get up and fix me a cup of coffee, and that helps me cope with it.
So to put this column in the field of fact, not fiction, we need to know that no one on television knows how you feel. They can’t tell you what medicines are better for you. That is what your doctor is for. No one who practices law should be able to advise someone via the television. Only you are the one who knows, and you can get advice from a lawyer right here in your city, who will help you, in any problems that you feel done wrong about.
And just by using common sense, you yourself can make a correct judgment on what you can afford in the way of a new home or a new car. Don’t let someone else make that judgment for you. Don’t put good judgment where you can’t find it.
Ray “Uncle Ray” Day of Kokomo is a weekly contributor to the Kokomo Tribune. E-mail him at uncleray@skyenet.net