Yesterday the Governor of North Carolina, Beverly Purdue signed into law an act prohibiting the smoking of tobacco in restaurants and bars in the state. For some this may seem a victory and good thing. For many in the state it is a betrayal and a criminal act.
At any rate for any reasonable observer who is concerned with his or her personal liberty this must be an ominous sign. One not need be a smoker either.
As this ban is set to take effect on 2 January 2010 we contemplate what other laws and trends are coming our way. Indeed which have already arrived by way of our state and federal governments.
It seems we are entering a period of the surreal. At a time in which state, local and federal legislation becomes even more “sensitive” and puritianical in drafting laws, these same bodies are increasingly immoral and ignorant of their role in this Republic.
A few examples. While wailing away at the dangers of public smoking legislatures nationwide and the federal government have adopted economic policies that will put our children into debt for most if not all their lives. Is this healthy? While pursuing mass mandatory vaccinations that could be leading to allergic and deep health issues the states also allow, encourage and in some cases subsidize the slaughter of millions of unborn children. If it is a matter of choice to abort a child why is it not a matter of choice for a parent to look after the children who are alive? The hypocrisy is staggering. While I do not advocate any parent leave their children to chance with childhood diseases, I also oppose them having these choices (if that is the word) forced upon them at the point of a gun by the state.
I continue. While demanding that property owners surrender the right to allow a perfectly legal act in their own businesses the state is schizophrenic in its application. By singling out only restaurants and bars that serve food it leaves a whole swath of public locations free. If this was such a dire health issue and beyond question then there should have been no difficulty in a total statewide ban in all public or even private places. If it was as bad as it is portrayed to be then state trucks would be plowing up tobacco fields as I write this and shutting down cigarette factories. But then, oh the horror, that would cost the treasury in these troubled times.
It seems any act, no matter how ridiculous can now be passed by wrapping it in one of two mantles. Those are “to protect our children” and “national security”. Both arguments are often as hollow as the souls of those who espouse them. We will ban any traditionally protected or culturally acceptable practice to “protect the children” yet send those who bravely volunteer for military service on fools missions in pointless wars to be killed in vain.
All the while the traditional protections of privacy and liberty with a balance of community interest are being subverted. Not in the interests of the community against the individual as some argue, but in the interests of the state. As the power of the states grows over our lives our respect for and use for that same state diminishes. I wonder at which point a critical mass will arrive.
No wonder you can wander into any bar, restaurant, park, farmhouse, outhouse or doghouse and hear people rail against the government. It is no longer our government but we are still the governed.
