Nanny State or worse?
One of the important themes for current State governments as well as our Federal government at the moment is to decide, on your behalf and mine, what is in our best interest. Personally I believe my life belongs to me and whatever I choose for myself, whether considered incorrect by anyone else including anyone in our government, is my choice, regardless unless I use force or fraud against others. My life is mine; my body is mine.
I, for one, didn’t vote for any of the current government programs that interfere in economics and, hence, individual rights, but, in full disclosure, I am a beneficiary of some government programs, such as Social Security. I’m just trying to get back the money, in real terms, that I contributed between age 16 and 62, the last 38+ years at a full-time tech job for a large IT company. I paid everything the government asked; I’m now just trying to get retribution even though I disagree with the idea of the program. No State or National government entity should be involved in economics, nor, more importantly, be trying to tell me what to do with my life or body. I recognize the rights of others, so I know I can’t use force or fraud in any form to harm others, but I DO believe I have a right to choose what I do, how I spend my money, how I live, i.e. how I choose to express my individual rights, as long as I respect the same rights for others.
Our government, at the moment, in some states and certainly at the national level, doesn’t agree. Currently, many State governments, as well as our National government, think its their job and/or duty to dictate certain aspects of our lives. There are very few questions being raised about the various governments intruding into our lives; I believe the time is NOW to rethink this intrusion of government into our lives. Our current government policies, at the State as well as the Federal level, limit our individual rights and thus make us less and less individuals, and more just pawns in their game.
What am I really talking about? There are many things our State and Federal governments are doing that clearly violate individual rights, our life, and our right to pursue our own interests that don’t violate the rights of other individuals. Such as, for example, the cities in the US that have banned smoking within restaurants. I don’t smoke, but I believe any business owner has property rights, so I believe it is his or her decision as the business owner to decide if they wish to allow or prohibit smoking on their property. If government at any level decides for them, then property rights and hence the right to life, if you actually understand the consequences, are lost. Another example, perhaps just as current, are the laws being imposed by some municipalities that dictate against trans fat in fast food or some other ingredient in whatever. This is Nanny State personified. Whether these ingredients or behavior are ‘harmful’ is not a decision to be made by any government. Only people and governments that believe government should be involved in economics and human behavior accept these ideas. Many people think a Nanny State is good and/or needed; I think its the antithesis of what this country needs.These are but two simple examples of government gone wild, i.e. government destroying individual rights and thus destroying our right to life, liberty, and individual choice in our own interest that honors the same choices for others while preserving property rights.
Nanny States may seem innocuous, but I wouldn’t bet my life on it.
Individual rights and government involvement in economics and/or religion for that matter don’t mix. Make your choice.
You may think you know the ‘truth’ just as I do, but neither I, nor you, have any right to impose our views on others.
My point, again, is that you and I BOTH have equal rights; I should not be able to impose my views on you and you have no right to impose, i.e. force by law, your views regarding economics or religion on me. My life and body are mine; yours are yours.
Nanny States are just the beginning of the end for individual rights and hence the right to life.