The "Nanny State" Ogre Raises Its Ugly Head Again

I am probably going to anger some of my brothers and sisters on the left with this post, but that can't be helped. I firmly believe the most important values an American can have are a belief in democracy and freedom. And I believe that a new law being proposed violates the principle for freedom (which is the right of every person to live his/her life as desired).

I am talking about the newest proposed "sin tax". It would put a 1 cent tax on every teaspoon of sugar that goes into a soft drink (and would levy that tax on the manufacturer -- which would drive up the cost of the product). The idea is that driving up the cost would cause many consumers to forego buying the product -- and the tax proceeds could be used to fight obesity and diabetes. The people proposing this law are convinced that sugar is bad for people. They could be right, even though I tend to think its use in moderation is not harmful. But even if they are right, I oppose this law.

I have no problem with their belief, or their right to promote that belief. I am a firm believer that Americans should have the right to free speech (even if that speech is offensive). Those who believe sugar is bad for a person should be able to use every available method (TV and print ads, articles, social media, etc.) to promote their message. But when they try to impose their belief through the passage of a law (which would apply to everyone), then they have crossed a line that shouldn't be crossed.

The crazy part is that many of these people who want to impose this "nanny state" tax are the same individuals who oppose right-wing fundamentalists when they try to impose their religious views through the passage of law (believing that would be for the "good" of everyone). I believe these efforts of both the right and left to dictate the choices and behavior of other Americans are wrong. Freedom means you should have the right to make your own decisions -- even if those decisions are thought to be wrong by others.

You may be saying to yourself at this point that the law only raises the price of the product significantly, and anyone who wants to buy the product could still do so. If you are talking about the rich and the upper middle class, that would be correct -- as they could still afford to buy the product even if the tax doubled or tripled the price. But most Americans aren't rich or upper middle class. Over half of the American population lives on an income within 150% of the poverty line -- and these are the people that would be most severely affected by this new tax.

These people (poor, low-wage workers, people living on a fixed income, unemployed, etc.) -- the very people whose cause the left champions -- are the people whose freedom would be curtailed. Many of them would have the choice of buying that product taken away from them by do-gooders who claim to know what is best for everyone else -- and that is just wrong. It denies them the freedom to make their own choices, and live their lives as they wish -- and they should have the same rights to make their own choices as any other Americans (regardless of whether others might think their choices are bad ones).

I believe this bad "nanny state" law should be tossed in the trash before some misguided legislators can pass it. And I am not alone in this belief. As the chart above shows, only 20% of Americans would support this crazy tax, while a massive 72% say they oppose it.

It all boils down to whether you believe in a free country, or a country where government can dictate the choices of it citizens "for their own good". I choose freedom -- and the right to make my own choices (regardless of what others may think of those choices).

The chart above was made from information in a recent Rasmussen Poll -- conducted on August 5th and 6th of a random national sample of 1,000 adults, with a margin of error of 3 points.

Tyranny Of The "Good"

I have never been a huge fan of C.S. Lewis, but I think he is absolutely right about this. Good people, who claim to believe in democracy and freedom, are many times too willing to try and force their fellow Americans to do something "for their own good". This is not an issue of either the left or the right, because both political extremes are guilty of this -- with the right wanting to force religion on their fellow citizens "for their own good", and the left wanting to force different lifestyle choices like dictating what can and cannot be bought or eaten "for their own good".

Many times this is called the "nanny state", but it really is just another form of tyranny. If you want to believe in a certain religion, live your life in a certain way, or consume only certain things, then do that. That is your right as a free person living in a free country. But when you try to force your own choices on other people "for their own good", then you have stepped over the line and are destroying freedom instead of furthering it.

Maybe the choices you have made would be "better for me" (and maybe they wouldn't). But in a free country, it is my choice to make -- not your's.

Losing Our Freedom

Anyone who has read very many of my posts knows that I hate conservatives who want to force everyone into accepting their own particular religious and political beliefs. But some may be surprised to learn that I hate the "nanny state" liberals equally as much.

To me, freedom means having the ability to make my own choices, and allowing everyone else to do the same. As long as my choices don't hurt someone else, then no one should be able to force me to do something different. It does not matter whether those choices are "good" for me or not.

There are liberals who want to tell us what we can't eat such as a ban on certain cooking oils or fatty foods. They want to tell me what I can't drink such as carbonated soft drinks. And of course, they want to keep me from using tobacco products. These people don't care that I'm an adult, perfectly capable of making my own choices. They have already decided what is best for me and will happily codify it with a law.

This is not freedom. It does not matter whether it's the right trying to force religion on me or the left trying to force "healthiness" on me -- it is tyranny either way, and I categorically reject it. Whatever happened to letting each citizen make his or her own choices?

In a free country, you have the right to try and convince me of anything you want -- until I ask you to stop. Write articles, send mail, buy advertisements and try any other non-invasive measures to change my mind if you want. But you have stepped over the line when you try to force my compliance with a law or a ban, because then you are taking my freedom of choice away. And I will not willingly give up ANY freedom!

The latest freedom-grabbing measure is aimed at the very soldiers who are fighting for our country in a war zone. A "study" commissioned by the Pentagon and the Department of Veterans Affairs has decided that their own views of tobacco use should be forced on our military troops -- the same troops who are supposedly fighting for our "freedom".

They want to ban tobacco use on all military bases, and ban the sale of all tobacco products on military bases. They even want to extend this ban to military troops stationed in a war zone. Fortunately Secretary Gates has refused to do this. He cites as his excuse the high stress levels in a war zone. He should just say that soldiers who fight for freedom should have the freedom to make their own choices.

Frankly, this is a stupid thing for a country to do -- especially when that country is having trouble filling its military enlistment quotas. They are telling all tobacco users that they don't respect their freedom to choose, and really don't want them to join the military.

I am left to wonder exactly what this "freedom" is that is so celebrated and that so many have given their lives to establish. Is it just the freedom to follow the orders of those in power? That's not freedom -- that's tyranny wrapped in an American flag. And tyranny wrapped in an American flag is no better than any other tyranny.

How about you? Do you want the freedom to make your own choices, or are you happy to left those in power make your choices for you?

Has Liberalism "Jumped The Shark" ?

The 1950's was a low point for liberalism in the United States. Due to organizations like the House Committee on UnAmerican Activities and the John Birch Society, and individuals like Joseph McCarthy and Roy Cohn, liberals were driven underground or out of the country. Being a liberal meant losing the right to work or even being imprisoned. By the end of the 50's, Liberalism was nearly dead in America.

But in the mid-sixties, it experienced a re-birth. It began at the University of California at Berkley, when Mario Savio (pictured above) and his cohorts started what they called the "Free Speech Movement". It was originally intended just to give students at that university the right speak freely about their political views. It accomplished that, but became much more, as it spread across the country -- first in the colleges and then in society at large.

Fueled by the "baby boomers" born right after World War II, this new liberalism was different than pre-war liberalism. It was no longer socialist-based, although it pushed many of the same causes like economic justice and civil rights, but was a more general freedom-based movement.
It preached equality and the right of the individual to believe what they wanted and to act like they wanted and live like they wanted, as long as they didn't step on the rights of others to do the same.

No longer was the individual expected to be an automaton -- a replica of their parents who said and did what they were told. The individual had rights which must be respected by authority and the highest value was freedom. Frankly, it was exciting to be a part of this movement in the sixties and seventies.

But some time in the 80's and 90's, liberalism began to go "off the track". I don't quite know how it happened, but "free speech" gave way to "political correctness". While mouthing a belief in free speech, many liberals will be quick to condemn and sometimes even try to outlaw certain forms of speech. They seem to have forgotten that when you outlaw offensive speech, you have outlawed freedom (and the very thing that gave birth to modern liberalism).

Just as bad is the "Nanny State". Just like the right-wing would like to force their religion on all Americans "for their own good", many liberals would like to pass "Nanny State" laws for the good of all Americans. They want to force Americans to stop smoking with exorbitant tobacco taxes, or tell them where they can and can't smoke. They want to pass laws punishing Americans for drinking sodas high in sugar. They want to pass laws to outlaw certain cooking oils in resturants. They would like to force all Americans to recycle their trash.

Maybe all these things are good and would probably improve a person's life and maybe even prolong it, but I have to wonder what ever happened to freedom -- the idea that an American has the right to make his/her own choices? In a truly free country, doesn't a citizen have the right to make a poor choice?

These days, those of us on the left understand that the right-wing can result in tyranny, but many seem to have forgotton that just like you can have a right-wing tyranny, you can also have a left-wing tyranny. And it's my opinion that both are equally bad.

If you believe something is good and citizens should do it to make their life better or longer or healthier, then by all means do what you can to educate people about it. But when you pass a law forcing that behavior, you have gone too far.

In a free country, each citizen has the right to make their own choices, even if those in power believe those choices to be bad ones. Liberalism used to mean freedom, but for many these days it means something else. That's why I no longer call myself a liberal. I am a leftist, a radical, a socialist or a progressive, but I believe liberalism has strayed from its meaning and prefer not to be labeled as such.

That's what I think. What do you think -- especially those of you on the left? Am I wrong? Should government have the right to force people into making better decisions?

The "Nanny State" Strikes Again

The "Nanny State" is alive and well in Los Angeles. The city council has decided that poor people in that city are too stupid to make their own choices, so they're going to force them to make the right choices. After all, the city council members are so much smarter than poor people.

In their infinite wisdom, the council has decided that poor people in Los Angeles are too fat. To remedy this situation, they have banned the opening of any new fast food restaurants in an impoverished part of the city for at least one year. They say it's to give the area time to attract healthier food outlets.

This is just stupid. When did it become the government's job to force people to eat "healthier"? What happened to freedom of choice? Of course, by banning the fast food joints, they are also banning the new jobs they would bring to the area. It would seem to me that jobs are exactly what is needed in a poverty-stricken part of town.

I don't have any problem with the government or any private group trying to educate the public on how to live a healthier lifestyle (or anything else). That is just free speech. But when actions are banned by the government, that is just wrong. In a free country, people should be able to make their own choices, even if those choices are not good ones.

It's ignorant and elitist thinking like this that makes me glad I don't live in Los Angeles.