by Mondoreb
Smoking bans, motorcycle helmet and seat belt laws, HillaryCare and lawsuits against fatty foods: what do they all have in common? A new book answers the question sucinctly: they're all part of the Nanny State.
From the book,“Nanny State,” by Denver Post columnist David Harsanyi; interviewed by Bill Steigerwald at The Moderate Voice:Some people will never learn Haransyi's lesson: they'll always trade a little government security for the nanny state. What's even worse, some will make the trade and not get any security. All they'll get are vague warnings about "what's good for you".
“What would Thomas Jefferson think about this? What would he think about banning happy hours at pubs? Or telling an Irish immigrant who owns a little pub somewhere that he can’t smoke a cigarette in there — on his own property?” I think it’s an assault on the American idea. I know that sounds dramatic, because it’s such small inconveniences, but that’s what they are.
And then you have to deal with the argument about externalities – “Well, if you smoke, I have to pay for your health care in the end.” Clearly, that’s a slippery slope, because then you can tell me to exercise every day. That never ends. But the more we socialize on a federal level, and clearly that’s coming with health care, then we’re all going to be collectively looking out for each other. That never ends. It’s never-ending right now, and it’s accelerating. Soon we’ll be at the Nanny State. It’s Orwellian. I know people throw around Orwell’s name a lot, but if you read “1984” the protagonist is trying to sneak a cigarette – because small things lead to big things. I think that’s the lesson there, and that’s the lesson I hope this book will convey to people.
Political correctness, socialized whatever and the steady erosion of personal freedoms--they all go hand-in-hand-in-hand. They all lead down the road to a form of petty slavery. The slavery of the Nanny State.
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