Up Against the Wall Fatso!
Drop the Twinkie and You Won’t Get Hurt!
Mayor Bloomberg of New York City is making national headlines as he continues his rampage on unhealthy habits in the Big Apple, including big gulps, smoking, and salt intake! Back here in California, similar efforts by our own State legislature to curb unsafe behavior barely merit mention in the media at all!
Where do you draw the line between government oversight of personal habits and an individual’s personal freedom and choice as it pertains to their private lives? Whether we are discussing mandatory helmet laws for motorcycles and bicycles, or the size of a cup of soda, or the right to smoke in your own home and car- who gets to decide what is legal?
The State claims that the cost to society from unhealthy living choices gives the government the right to intervene and dictate behavior under the Health and Safety code. Once Obamacare kicks in, this imperative to meddle will only get worse as the government will have the added authority to deny care and treatment if you blow them off with respect to how you should live your life.
A State legislator recently introduced a bill that would prohibit smoking in private homes and apartments if the second hand smoke could possibly drift next door! Another legislator wanted to ban sales of Gatorade in school cafeterias. Of course, Michelle Obama tried to dictate what could be served in school lunches across the land, including calorie intake and portion controls, as if one size and diet is suitable for all students.
I find it amazing that the same liberals who want to legalize drugs, want to make less harmful foods and activities illegal! They claim the war on drugs has been a dismal failure yet they think they can declare war on sugary drinks and junk food by making them illegal in schools? Now, they want to make smoking illegal in your own home? It is already illegal to smoke in your own car if a minor is present! Do we really have the police power to enforce these laws?
As I covered this topic on the radio show and the Andy Caldwell Show facebook page, one person commented that if we made cigarettes completely illegal, would we have bales of tobacco being offloaded from panga boats onto our shores?
The point here is that our society is failing miserably to control behavior and substances that are truly a menace to society. Just consider for a moment the abuse of meth here on the Central Coast. People are dead because of this drug. Yet, we are going to waste the precious time of law enforcement personnel and our justice system pursuing activities like smoking in a private home?
I do believe cigarettes are bad for your health and I do believe second hand smoke can be a problem. I also know that riding motorcycles and bicycles can result in accidents involving head trauma. I understand that high salt intake and too much sugar can pose health problems too. But, the question remains, does government have a compelling interest to legislate and regulate behavior, in essence, making these activities a crime, when the potential for impacts to others is highly questionable?
Why not just come right out and make it a crime to be fat and/or smoke? Will we let government dictate what food can be legally sold in our restaurants and grocery stores? Should government control and ration sugar and salt as it does pharmaceuticals? How long before it simply bans all deep-fried foods?
When you let government assume responsibility for your life, you are in essence giving it control and losing your freedom in the process. Who says government can do a better job of managing your diet and life than you can? The answer to that question should tell you something about yourself!
Andy Caldwell is the Executive Director of COLAB and the host of the Andy Caldwell Radio Show weekdays from 3-5 p.m. on AM 1290 News Press Radio and AM1440 KUHL.