Viewpoint by Mark Bauer/editor-in-chief

Americans—especially Texan Americans—have trouble doing anything in moderation.

It could have something to do with the sizable square mileage of our state. But if that were the case, Texas would only do things bigger in a close second to Alaska.

Not only that, but Alaska would have igloos the size of our Lone Star Edition trucks.

Instead, the average igloo is the size of an international, battery-powered hybrid. (No need to fact check the average dimensions, I verified it on Wikipedia.)

And this over-indulgence is usually reserved for things that aren’t good for us. In the entire history of children refusing to eat their vegetables, I don’t think the words “put down the carrot sticks!” have ever been uttered during tableside conversation unless the carrot sticks were being used to eradicate booger buildup in the nose.

And when was the last time a married couple was on Dr. Phil because they were worried too much sex was going to ruin their marriage?

Of course, an exception might occur when one of them in the marriage is excluded from the “too much” sex. Uh … a legitimate concern, I think.

I’m not so sure there is a solution to the rampant problem of excess, either. With each passing day, our lives seem to get exponentially busier. 

Perhaps over-indulgence is a quick fix, or so it would seem, to the many problems we are too busy to tackle.

Simply perusing the “self-help” section of any bookstore is liable to give you a headache—the very name of the genre is an oxymoron.

You, all messed up and broken, are supposed to somehow fix yourself, in 10 easy steps, no less. But even all the king’s horses and all the king’s men weren’t able to put Humpty together again.

So then, what is the answer?

Some might say extinguishing a person’s passion is the fastest way to terminate his vice.

But passionless and apathetic lives don’t lend themselves to love—the opposing path of apathy.

So the answer: I actually don’t know. But I think the answer might lie somewhere between a balance of deep friendships, spirituality and healthy eating.

But if any of that involves carrots, use the ranch dip.