There are other widespread misconceptions about fitness that should be laid to rest.

Television and automobiles are blamed more and more for our sedentary habits. This line of reasoning is sophisticated twentieth-century atavism at its illogical best. It tuttuts our technological way of life and subtly hints that our ancestors, who never had it this good, really never had it so good. Television and automobiles have seduced us into a pathetic state of physical atrophy.

If naïveté were tax-deductible, such philosophers would be totally tax-exempt. Automation has been made the hapless scapegoat of our poor condition when, in fact, it is the fault of the people who use them, not of the appliances themselves. What television set ever turned itself on, or what car ever drove down to the corner drugstore for a tube of toothpaste? Why blame a car? It takes a human to get it going! This gets at the root of another misconception—namely, that the emphasis on fitness should be for children. Here the axiom is that fit children grow up to be fit adults (and who has proven this?). So for every child in shape there potentially will in time be a fit adult—a one-for-one proposition. Mathematically it is more profitable to concentrate on the grownups.

Children inherently are hero worshipers. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and children mimic the people they respect the most. If a boy sees his revered father come home from the office, slump into a chair, and turn on television, it is scarcely surprising that the son follows suit—to the exclusion of physical activity. But let there be a father in the neighborhood who is a good sport, who keeps trim, and who is fit—watch a whole gang of kids crowd around and admire and exercise. The good influence of sports idolatry on boys in particular is seen in Little Leagues where little tykes make incredible plays in imitation of their big-league heroes. If one child is in shape, one child is fit. If one adult is physically fit, a dozen or more children soon may be.

Another old wives' tale involves the housewife herself. She is told she cannot become fit what with her washer, drier, automatic dishwasher, vacuum cleaner, electric floor polisher, and so forth. After all, in the good old days these chores were done by hand. True, but they were done by the maid, not necessarily by the housewife. The husband and children also helped.

She is also criticized because she uses the car too much. But home deliveries from the local market are almost a thing of the past. And with the movement to outer suburbia, it is a long walk to the shopping center. Leave the housewife alone—she gets plenty of exercise cleaning the house, chasing the children, and tending the garden.

Finally, there is a popular myth which says, ' 'Americans must be told why they should be in shape if national fitness is to be achieved." In fact, millions have been spent telling us why. The problem is not that simple. Many people are not in shape, not because they are against fitness or because they do not know why fitness is desirable, but because they have not been given practical suggestions on the hows of fitness.

No one denies that Americans are in poor shape. According to what we are told, this is deplorable. But it is not the purpose of this article to say why fitness may be desirable.