As Americans’ addiction to unhealthy foods is becoming more and more alarming, it is high time to ask ourselves, what could help people to take back the control over their own bodies? In her essay, called “My Accidental Ramadan”, Krista Bremer describes Ramadan as a tough, yet useful period during which her husband had to refrain from falling prey to his own food cravings and hunger while also trying to maintain a positive attitude. While this ritual seemed cruel and unnecessary in the beginning, Krista eventually understood that it represented a kind of triumph of the mind over the body. Consequently, apart from the spiritual purpose for fasting, there is a practical application for it. In particular, restrictive fasting rituals like the Islamic Ramadan are an example of how habitual overindulgence can be broken when the will is strong enough. This paper will argue that an abstaining ritual like Ramadan can help Americans to get back the control over their own bodies by forcing them to practice self-discipline and patience. This is because a fasting ritual would make them fight against the addiction to fast-food and sugary diets, because it requires them to focus on their inner selves, and because it changes the society’s perception of self-abandonment. However, enforcing such a ritual would be inefficient because in order for it to have the intended consequences, it has to be based on a personal conviction.
The American obsession with unhealthy products causes them addictions, not only for fast food, but also with all kinds of alimentary and non-alimentary foods. Most people today know that a diet rich in fatty acids and simple sugars causes obesity, diabetes, and other health issues, but they simply cannot stop themselves from consuming them. In his article Zinczenko explained the fast food overindulgence problem in the American society, and how teenagers are affected by it. As Zinczenko shows, “most of the teenagers who live, as I once did, on a fast-food diet won't turn their lives around: They've crossed under the golden arches to a likely fate of lifetime obesity” (par. 4). This means that most teenagers could not find the strength to give up fast food, even if it made them obese. There are several reasons the author gives for not quitting a diet which is provably unhealthy, such as the fact that few alternatives are available to young people, and that they do not know that this diet is unhealthy. However, while blaming the system for allowing fast food companies to lure children towards this kind of food, the author forgets about the responsibility of adults to practice, and teach children, about self-control. The reason why fast food companies are flourishing is particularly because people cannot control their own cravings and even, their hunger. They want instant gratification, and choose fast-food because it offers it to them.
A ritual which requires people to abstain from certain products or even to spend an entire day not eating and drinking water necessarily also requires them to look within themselves for sources of strength. This ritual therefore, when practiced correctly, gives a person the necessary practice of finding ways to resist a habit which is proven to be harmful. Bremer explains in this respect that for Muslims, fasting is not a goal in itself, but it is only a means to achieve a goal. Thus, for the author, the purpose of fasting during Ramadan is not simply to suffer hunger, thirst, or desire, but to bring oneself closer to taqwa: a state of sincerity, discipline, generosity, and surrender to Allah; (Bremer 2 par. 8). In other words, fasting is a means for people to achieve a higher state of awareness, and to improve as human beings and believers. Likewise, for American consumers, fasting would be a way of practicing self-control and discipline in regards to our alimentary habits. Fasting may help people to re-focus on themselves, when so many responsibilities and the lack of time which characterizes contemporary societies, makes people forget about their own bodies and souls. Fasting may be tough, but this is exactly what makes it efficient. By finding the inner strength to go through a tough ritual, people would learn new things about themselves, and would practice being patient and disciplined. It can teach them that food cravings can be controlled and that instant gratification is not a survival necessity- they can wait for an hour before eating.
The habit of overindulgence and abandonment to bodily pleasures is learnt from parents and the society in general, and by practicing an abstaining ritual, at the level of the community, a new mentality develops. This is showed in Gup’s article, where the author laments the society’s formation of children who abandon themselves to drugs because they imitate the practices of the society. As the author argues, “our children go to school not only in the classroom but also at home, and the culture they construct for themselves as teenagers and young adults is but a tiny village imitating that to which they were introduced as children” (Gup par.8). The author here shows that the society itself is promoting instant gratification, and ready-made solutions, while disregarding the long-term effects. Fasting and the restraint it requires can create awareness at the level of the society, that self-abandonment is unacceptable, and that overindulgence is inadmissible. This is because people who fast are admired for their self-discipline and restraint and consequently, any kind of self- abandoned may be opposed or discouraged. This is also noticed by Warner (par. 8), according to whom, eating fast food may become as socially unacceptable as smoking, if enough pressure is applied.
However, enforcing such a ritual would be inefficient as long as people do not commit themselves to fasting, and do not turn towards themselves for a spiritual and moral lesson, or discovery, which would allow them to gain self-discipline and self –control. Educating people in the spirit of fasting, or making it compulsory, would only make people try to find ways to cheat, or, if people are effectively socialized to accept it, it would become a burden. Bremer argues that the commitment to fasting must come from a personal goal. Namely, “the Prophet Mohammed taught that the greatest jihad, or struggle, of our lives is not the one that takes place on a battlefield, but the one that takes place within our hearts — the struggle to increase self-discipline and become a better person (Bremer 2 par 9). People not only need to fast, but they also need to find a proper motivation for fasting, and find an inner reward for doing it, such as feeling a better person after that. If they do not see the purpose in fasting, then people would lose their inner battle of mind against bodily needs. They need to find a spiritual goal in fasting, in order to learn that the mind is more powerful than primary instincts and that can resist food cravings.
Therefore, in a society which is overwhelmingly addicted to fast-food and sugar because of the instant gratification it offers, learning how to abstain from basic bodily needs is crucial to developing reasonable eating habits. Fasting is an important ritual at the level of the society because it promotes self-discipline and discourages overindulgence and self-abandonment. This attitude can reverberate throughout the society, and can be transmitted from generation to generation. By learning how to abstain from food, and to postpone gratification, people can practice discipline and can acquire the necessary inner strength to regulate their dietary habits.
Works Cited
Bremer, Krista. “My Accidental Jihad”. The Sun 382 (2007):n.p. Web.
Gup, Ted. “Diagnosis : Human”. The New York Times. 2013. Web.
Warner, Judith. Junking Junk Food. The New York Times Magazine. 2010. Web.
Zinczenk, David. “Don’t Blame the Eater”. The New York Times. 2002. Web.
