How much freedom will we give up?
Published on Thu, May 13, 2010 by John PierreRead More The Constant Curmudgeon
It seems like our government is trying to take over our lives more and more so that we have no say in daily activities or our future.
Where will it stop ... or will it? Various states and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are trying to regulate how much salt we are allowed to consume. The movement is to limit the permissible amount of salt in processed food and in restaurant selections.
The body needs a reasonable amount of salt to survive just like it needs water. Unfortunately, our ever-more-intrusive federal government would like to tell us how much salt we are allowed to consume. They would like to tell chefs how much to use in food preparation as well.
Ask any chef, salt is as necessary to taste as is fat. Try enjoying a fat-free, unsalted steak at any restaurant. You will undoubtedly decry the lack of taste and complain to the restaurant management.
Many years ago, when I was stationed at the Naval Air Station in El Centro, California (at the southern tip of the Mojave Desert), we were encouraged to ingest salt tablets hourly while working in the magazine area to keep from dehydrating. Salt was considered necessary to survival on the desert.
First it was smoking. It was, I think wisely, limited to certain areas in restaurants by the restaurateurs themselves. Then our state government, encouraged by anti-smoking activists, decided smoking shouldn't be allowed in restaurants at all. I wouldn't care to argue with that either. But things have gone too far. It has gotten to where one can't smoke in his favorite saloon or casino. There has even been an occasional effort to stop people from smoking in their own car or home if children might occasionally be present. I object to this intrusion and I happen to be a non-smoker.
Some of these regulations, in my opinion, are good and others go too far. But, regardless of "good" or "dumb" regulations, my basic objection is ... how much are we going to allow government (either state or federal) to control our lives? Are we going to permit them to decide how fat people can be? How much exercise a person must perform daily? How parents can discipline their children? How much red meat we're permitted?
I'm thinking that government has far overstepped its rightful boundaries and should be reined in before we are reduced to puppets dancing to the whim of a tyrannical puppeteer.
Are we soon going to be denied all of our personal choices of life style?
Where will it end?
Where will it stop ... or will it? Various states and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are trying to regulate how much salt we are allowed to consume. The movement is to limit the permissible amount of salt in processed food and in restaurant selections.
The body needs a reasonable amount of salt to survive just like it needs water. Unfortunately, our ever-more-intrusive federal government would like to tell us how much salt we are allowed to consume. They would like to tell chefs how much to use in food preparation as well.
Ask any chef, salt is as necessary to taste as is fat. Try enjoying a fat-free, unsalted steak at any restaurant. You will undoubtedly decry the lack of taste and complain to the restaurant management.
Many years ago, when I was stationed at the Naval Air Station in El Centro, California (at the southern tip of the Mojave Desert), we were encouraged to ingest salt tablets hourly while working in the magazine area to keep from dehydrating. Salt was considered necessary to survival on the desert.
First it was smoking. It was, I think wisely, limited to certain areas in restaurants by the restaurateurs themselves. Then our state government, encouraged by anti-smoking activists, decided smoking shouldn't be allowed in restaurants at all. I wouldn't care to argue with that either. But things have gone too far. It has gotten to where one can't smoke in his favorite saloon or casino. There has even been an occasional effort to stop people from smoking in their own car or home if children might occasionally be present. I object to this intrusion and I happen to be a non-smoker.
Some of these regulations, in my opinion, are good and others go too far. But, regardless of "good" or "dumb" regulations, my basic objection is ... how much are we going to allow government (either state or federal) to control our lives? Are we going to permit them to decide how fat people can be? How much exercise a person must perform daily? How parents can discipline their children? How much red meat we're permitted?
I'm thinking that government has far overstepped its rightful boundaries and should be reined in before we are reduced to puppets dancing to the whim of a tyrannical puppeteer.
Are we soon going to be denied all of our personal choices of life style?
Where will it end?