(Hat Tip) The New York Times:
While I generally resent the commoditization of our lives and the commercialization of the American experience the problem here isn't so much that here for me.
The problem I'm having is that Big Pharma didn't have the courage to say that they were doing it. They hid behind trusted people in the media and a happy shiny message.
I have a problem with the fact that every facet of my life is available for marketing by some company or another. I have a bigger problem with a lack of good faith and honesty. It bespeaks, in the end, a general contempt by manufacturers and business in general about the people it, on the face, strive to serve and provide for.
I think American culture, as it is, is going to hell in a handbasket. Some would say I'm an optimist, pointing out it's already there.
If we don't have basic honesty, which is supposed to be a core American value, then we've really got nothing but a sham.
But while RealAge promotes better living through nonmedical solutions, the site makes its money by selling better living through drugs.
Pharmaceutical companies pay RealAge to compile test results of RealAge members and send them marketing messages by e-mail. The drug companies can even use RealAge answers to find people who show symptoms of a disease — and begin sending them messages about it even before the people have received a diagnosis from their doctors.
While I generally resent the commoditization of our lives and the commercialization of the American experience the problem here isn't so much that here for me.
The problem I'm having is that Big Pharma didn't have the courage to say that they were doing it. They hid behind trusted people in the media and a happy shiny message.
I have a problem with the fact that every facet of my life is available for marketing by some company or another. I have a bigger problem with a lack of good faith and honesty. It bespeaks, in the end, a general contempt by manufacturers and business in general about the people it, on the face, strive to serve and provide for.
I think American culture, as it is, is going to hell in a handbasket. Some would say I'm an optimist, pointing out it's already there.
If we don't have basic honesty, which is supposed to be a core American value, then we've really got nothing but a sham.
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