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By Courtney Hunt, Special to The MAHA Report
My aunt was one of the original crunchy liberals, decades ahead of her time, with organic food, natural products, and a toxin-free lifestyle. Back then, that made her proudly progressive. But in one of the strangest political reversals of our time, those same wellness values are now dismissed, mocked, or even labeled crazy and extreme by some of the very people who had embraced them.
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This reversal matters. Clean food, clean living, and defending children’s health used to be core progressive values. Now, political grudges are pushing people away from the reforms they fought for. And while many are trying to ignore it, MAHA is actually delivering on these long-promised changes.
But back in the 1980’s growing up healthy was not a priority. While my parents were not intentionally feeding us junk food, like most 80s kids, we grew up on convenience foods such as McDonald’s, Rice-A-Roni, Hamburger Helper, and Jello. We drank Diet Pepsi like it was water, and this was the norm–except for my cousins’ family.
My health-conscious aunt was a tree-hugging hippie liberal. In their house the only drinking option was water or an occasional Shasta soda. We were only allowed to watch one hour of educational public broadcasting TV. She reused and recycled everything before that was a thing, and her home was full of natural products that you can only get at the local co-op.
Forty-some years ago, living a healthy, natural lifestyle was considered ‘fringe.’ Not many people knew what “organic” even meant, and recycling and environmental activism were barely known. Back then, none of this was political; it was just a natural way of living.
Today, those same choices are treated like a political statement. If you talk about clean food, healthy kids, and a healthier (MAHA-style) lifestyle, you might actually be labeled a right-wing extremist.
But there’s nothing extreme about wanting to be healthy.
So, how did we get here?
People like my aunt, who spent her life pursuing better health for her family, are now willing to completely abandon their long-held ideals simply because they refuse to support Trump and, by extension, the MAHA movement.
And even though HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has spent decades fighting for cleaner water, safer products, and transparent, gold-standard science – the exact values that once defined his progressive politics – because he has changed parties, his ideals appear threatening to many Democrats and progressives and are maligned. They consider Kennedy on the other side no matter how hard he continues to fight to make America healthy again, and no matter how many ‘wins’ he chalks up.
That’s sad and reflective of a culture that has grown so used to division it can’t recognize a good man fighting for changes we all should be getting behind.
Case in point: When Walmart, the largest retailer in the country, announced they were removing artificial dyes and additives from their store-brand foods, it should have been front-page news for Democrats and Republicans. Instead, many progressive Democrats chose to completely ignore it precisely because the names Kennedy and MAHA were attached to such wins. That is what political grudges look like.
Turns out Wallmart’s move was just the tip of the iceberg. The list of companies making choices to remove toxic ingredients from their products is rapidly growing. In any other era, Secretary Kennedy would be celebrated as a leader of a vital crusade to change an unhealthy culture rife with chronic disease.
But today is more polarized than ever before — more reason we should come together.
There’s an old saying – “If you stand for nothing, you’ll fall for anything.” If we don’t stand up for the health of our children, our food supply, and our environment, regardless of who delivers the reform, then what kind of a people are we?
I write this as someone who was inspired by my aunt’s way of living, who grew to understand how our food really does impact our health. I write as someone who loves our planet and our country.
There’s no time to play blind: MAHA has already proven to be a viable way forward — a way for all Americans to demand our health become a priority; to declare love for the world in which we live; and, most importantly, to show commitment to our children.
RFK Jr. and MAHA are quietly moving ahead with healthier school lunches, less processed foods, and fewer artificial dyes and toxic ingredients. These are reforms progressives demanded for decades; they are happening now.
At the end of the day, this isn’t about politics. It’s about children’s bodies, our family’s health, and a country (and world) we all share. Health has to come before politics, no matter which side of the political divide you happen to live on.
As Secretary Kennedy reminds us: “We need to love our children more than we hate each other.” That simple truth lies at the heart of the MAHA mission. When politics outweighs health, we all lose.
Courtney Hunt is a Master of Social Work student and the Assistant Director of Merchandise for MAHA Action. She is passionate about creating a healthier future for our children.
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