Most of these morons believe that the laws that they conjure up are for the good of the people. What they fail to understand is that Americans have the constitutional right to smoke tobacco, eat fatty foods, or ride in their cars unbelted if they so choose. It is none of the Legislature’s business. These are not the matters that government should be dealing with.
The left coast, not to be outdone, has just passed a law recently signed by the Governator, to outlaw the use of trans-fats in any restaurant in
My question is simple. What is next? How much of my freedom am I going to have to give up before I say no. My life is my responsibility. My choices are mine. I don’t smoke or use tobacco nor would I even think about getting on a motorcycle, but that is my choice. I do not need nor would I seek permission from any so-called elected leader. By the same token if my neighbor chooses any of these vices for their own pleasure it is none of my business.
What is happening in the new normal? How is it possible that laws are being passed with no regard to the constitutionality of those laws. I am sure that 9/11 had something to do with it. We are now expected to submit to extensive, warrantless searches just to get on an airplane. But Ron, you scream, it’s for our own good. If we don’t do these things the bad guys will kill us all. People will die of lung cancer. People will die of obesity. People will get heart disease from trans-fats. What other choice do we have?
I have a few thoughts on that issue. My grandmother lived to one hundred and died at three hundred pounds. My father smoked most of his life and is in good shape now at ninety. He also lived the majority of his life as did his mother on bacon grease and gravy. Everything they ate was fried. Do you think they are genetic mutations? No, they just drew the right genetic straw. How many people have you heard of who exercise regularly, eat the right foods, look for all the world fit and trim and then fall down dead during that exercise. It happens.
Now for a few final thoughts. Freedom is messy. I love that expression because it is so true. Freedom is allowing people to make their own choices even if those choices are, in your opinion, wrong. By the way, your opinion has no more or less value than theirs. We pass laws for sure and we should as long as they are constitutional, but the problem is we are far less inclined to punish those who would violate the law. We must punish offenders and if necessary take them out of the gene pool forever. This is where we fall down and fail in our responsibility to the American people.
As a free American citizen all I want is accurate, unfiltered information with no agenda attached. I will make my own decisions as I am free to do as an American. The absolute last thing I want or need is the opinion of some elected representative/lawyer who may well be on the payroll of a number of outfits who are trying to sell me something. Quit trying to take care of me. I’ll do it myself. That is my normal.
Ron Scarbro July 28, 2008.
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My, my, my, where do I begin my friend? While we agree on most aspects of your desire for freedom of rights, we differ when your rights start interfering with my pocket book. I agree that people have the right to chose their life style, but when smoking causes lung cancer and that raises my health insurance premiums because of the expense of treatment of a condition that could be prevented by not smoking, I say make it as tough as possible on those that do. How in the world this country can continue to subsidize tobacco growers is beyond me. I am for raising the tax on cigarettes until they can’t afford to buy them. As for smoking in public places, or private business for that matter, the right to smoke and pollute the air ends at my nose. In the privacy of one’s home, yes, but anywhere else no one should be subjected to someone else’s second hand smoke.
The same issue goes for seat belts. It is a proven fact that they reduce fatalities and injuries. Therefore, it has to reduce my insurance cost. Why should it cost me more because some people are too stupid to where seat belts in cars and helmets on motorcycles. I am certain you would not advocate repealing the child restraint laws just because it might violate someone’s freedom of rights. Someone has to protect the children because there are too many ignorant and irresponsible parents out there who could care less about their kids. Therefore the government has to step in and provide the protection. Lead in paint is a good case in point.
The problem, Ron, is we need laws for an orderly society. It is all or nothing. And sometimes those laws might infringe on someone’s freedom. So be it. Live with it. I would rather suffer through long lines at the airport than share a ride with 6 terrorist hell bent to their version of heaven. I would rather be inconvenienced at a police check point looking for drunk drivers than be met by one head on a mile down the road. If the police want to check my car for drugs, guns, contraband, bring it on, because I have nothing to hide and maybe they will catch the guys that are harboring that stuff. I could always tell when I was dealing with an honest taxpayer because they always provided any information and documents I requested, because they were not trying to hide anything. And if I did uncover errors, it was due to mistakes or misinterpretation of the tax laws.
My feeling all along is the rights we enjoy in a free society are only guaranteed to those who obey the laws. Violate the laws and you lose your rights. Today the criminal has more rights than the law abider. And that, my friend, is the direct result of the liberal left. But I digress.
As for food, well, in our grandparents and parents generation the level of physical work was much higher than it is today - in any field. Farmers do not work nearly as hard today as they did fifty years ago. Even construction workers have it easier with all the mechanization that we have today. Trans fats were not a problem in our ancestor’s days because they worked them off. The obesity we see to day in our kids and adults is because of the lack of physical activity. I will not deny that genetics is a bigger player than most want to acknowledge, but I think it has been shown that a high fat diet with little physical work or exercise will, in most people, kill them early. I do agree with you that to regulate trans fats maybe going a step to far. Where do you draw the line on making sure our food is safe? What do you regulate and not regulate? If you remember, this country went through the same hassles when the government said that milk should be pasteurized.
I no longer can buy a three wheel motorcycle like the Honda 90 ATV that I and the kids enjoyed racing around the ranch on. The government determined that they were unsafe. They probably were; we spilled it more than once, usually racing with the dogs. I now have a four wheel ATV. Much more stable and safer, but if I go to fast or get on slopes to steep, it will roll just as the three wheeler did and it hurts just the same. Were my rights violated? I don’t think so. They didn’t outlaw ATVs, just tri-cycle types.
My final thought? You and I and some others in this country are very capable to choose what’s good and right for ourselves. Unfortunately, there are a great number out there who are incapable of making even the simplest of decisions and if we don’t do it for them, it will make it terribly uncomfortable for the rest of us. I really don’t know how some are even able to get up and do anything. The worst problem is they are breeding and producing more like themselves. God help us all! Mike Query, 07-28-08
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