modern #medicine idol worship

10.11, 10.16: pol/healthcare/modern medicine idol worship:
. there are several meanings of "idol worship":
it was believed by the authors of the Bible
that each culture was ruled by its own god,
and that one's own god was the ruler of other gods
such that other gods were basically lifeless
and unable to work magic or bless their followers;
one's god required that certain commands be obeyed
and would provide rewards for doing so;
drugs were outlawed because they cheated the god
by taking rewards without doing the god's will .
. cheating the reward system is a form of idol worship;
because, it doesn't obey the culture's god
therefore it is worshiping some other culture
-- some non-god, an idol .
. sex for pleasure rather than procreation
was similarly banned as cheating the god
because the purpose of sex's pleasure
is to increase your god's people
and maximize the domain of your god's rule .
. so,
idol worship consisted of worshiping other gods
or cheating your own god's reward system .
. from a secular perspective,
society gives rewards for society-protecting behaviors
but cheaters will try to maximize rewards
without concern for protecting society .
. modern medicine has an idol worship problem:
they should get paid for positive outcomes
(living longer with fewer diseases needing treatment)
but instead,
doctors are paid for reduction of various symptoms
even if these cures increase risk of other diseases .
. patients too should get paid for cooperating:
eg, diet can be a big part of prevention,
whereas patients are often resistant to dietary changes,
and that is why doctors resort to symptom-masking drugs:
they are not allowed to remove the root cause .
. industry also needs to be paid
in order to reduce occupational diseases;
and, most of our healthcare dollars would go there;
because, perfect worker safety would significantly increase
the costs of all goods .
. for instance all hand-picked vegetables
would have to be organically grown
to protect workers from pesticides .
. finally, congressmen need to get paid:
why are they subsidizing the sugar industry?
because they are paid by the sugar industry,
more than they are paid for health outcomes .