Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Put Down That Fritter!

Not to be outdone by the intrusion of the state into how private businesses conduct business when it comes to smoking, the city of New York has now passed a law banning trans-fats from eateries. That's right...the state is dedicated to protecting its citizens from themselves.

Some of the statements in the article deserve commentary:

"We're not trying to take away anybody's ability to go out and have the kind of food that they want in the quantities that they want, but we are trying to make that food safer." - Mayor Bloomberg

Translation: you don't really want some of that food because it's not good for you.

"I don't care about what might be politically correct and what's not," said Murray Bader, nursing a cup of coffee at Dunkin' Donuts on Tuesday morning. "I want to live longer!"

Here's an idea: if you want to live longer, the solution is to take responsibility for what you eat. That means know what's good and bad for you and choose what you eat accordingly. That does NOT mean support a law that allows the state to dictate what people can and cannot eat.

"It's hurting us, all this fat, but the kids really like it," said Ramirez, pointing to 3-year-old Amber, who had just finished her dinner. "It would be better to know what we're getting."

So the 3-year-old dictates their own diet? While I agree that you should be aware of what you are eating when you order food, you have choices to make. You don't have to eat there, especially if they do not provide the information you want. Heaven forbid though that we citizens make choices for ourselves, including "depriving" ourselves of something for the sake of conviction. No, we have to pass laws to exempt us from having to make those tough decisions and relieve our fellow citizens of their need to do so for their own good.

So, as it stands right now, the state can take away your home if they decide it would be more beneficial to have a shopping center on your property, the state can tell a private business owner that they cannot allow smoking at all in their own business, and now the state can tell private businesses that they cannot cook food a certain way at all. All, of course, for the good of the people...us poor oblivious folk who are too burdened with choosing who we think will win Survivor to make difficult decisions like where to spend our time and money on things that matter.

Mind you, I'm not supporting smoking or the habitual eating of trans-fat foods in and of themselves. I'm simply becoming more and more discouraged by the general trend towards shirking personal responsibility, which is a far more dangerous and deadly habit than either of those things. The state has become the dealer of this drug. I say Just Say No.

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