Reply #36: The entire 'philosophy' of refusing to share or ameliorate the tragedies

[TahitiNut]

... that our fellow human beings - our relatives, friends, neighbors, or fellow citizens - suffer, based on some choices they might make that we ourselves don't make, is the basis on which divisions and alienations become a cancer in our body politic.

Where do we draw the line?

We began by advising and educating people regarding the risks and hazards of various activities. The primary rationale? Compassion for the person - a desire to equip them with the information (and willingness to bear the educational expense) to make an informed choice. The activities include driving cars (auto design and equipment), tobacco use (cigarettes, cigars, pipes, chewing), riding motorcycles (helmets), and a host of other activities that don't gain the continued public discussion.

We weren't satisfied. We disapproved of the choices people made, even when "informed."

We then used the police power of government to impose requirements on products. We mandated collapsible steering columns, not just product disclosure. We mandated seat belts, not just product disclosure. We mandated carrying helmets for the rider and passengers on a motorcycle. We mandated warnings on tobacco packaging.

We weren't satisfied. We disapproved of the choices people made, even when "equipped."

We then used the police power of government to impose requirements on behavior - behavior that is not, in and of itself, directly harmful to others, except in an indirect statistical of diffuse economic sense.

It's a new rationale for criminalization of behavior - behavior that is not, per se, directly harming another person but, through diffuse statistical correlations, often very thin, has some indirect impact on either the health or, more often, the economics of others. Without question, however, the consequential impact on the individuals themselves totally dwarfs the impact on any other person.

Furthermore, where do we draw the line on whose tragedies we walk away from? To whom do we say "Fuck you! It's your fault and I'm not paying!" Our children? Our parents? Our cousins? Our spouses? Our lifelong friends? Our neighbors? Our coworkers? Our employees? Our employers? People with whom we share racial, religious, or other demographics? Or just "them" - those evil strangers? How many tobbacco-nazis refuse to visit a parent or sibling or child who smokes, merely because they oppose the behavior/smell? How many tobacco-nazis act with the same venom toward a parent, offspring, sibling that they do toward strangers?

When, if we're lucky, we finally pass a national health care system how much do we run amok criminalizing the behaviors of others (never ourselves, of course)??

Quite frankly, when I look at how Control Freaks are codependently destroying a liberal democracy in this country, I'm glad I'm childless and, at 63, won't have to live long enough to suffer the Hell we're very obviously headed toward.