Incremental Social Engineering
In 1989 I happened to be living in sunny San Diego, and it was around this time that serious discussions were going on about banning smoking across the state. A statewide ban in California was finally enacted in 1998. When I heard about this it reminded me of something my father mentioned back in '89 when the discussions had just begun. He said "They won't be satisfied with just cigarettes, you wait and see, soon they'll go after Mc Donalds and running shoes." I thought this was a preposterous statement at the time, surely our government would never go after fast food and shoes. As a young man you can sometimes forget the benefit of perspective that comes with experience. My father has always paid attention to government and politics and had seen similar things happen before.
Fast food is already under attack in the U.S. and elsewhere around the globe. In the city of Cotati in California the Council has voted to make permanent its ban on fast food restaurants. In New York, after pushing through a controversial smoking ban, Mayor Bloomberg's health department turned to fighting obesity and the restaurants that enable it. The Malaysian government has considered a ban on all fast food advertising. Prince Charles has stated publicly that Mc Donalds should be banned for promoting an unhealthy diet to children. Paul Zimmet, professor of diabetes at Monash University in Australia says that fast foods, processed snacks and sugary drinks can cause as much ill health as cigarettes, and should be taxed like tobacco and banned from schools and public institutions.
On the surface, all of this really doesn't sound like a bad idea. After all what's wrong with encouraging people to stop smoking, have a healthy diet, and exercise more often? I'll tell you what I believe is wrong with this, I call it social engineering. In a free society, it is up to the individual to choose how he or she lives their life, so long as their actions do not infringe upon someone elses freedoms. I don't smoke or drink alcohol, but I defend the rights of people who choose to engage in these activities. I have a hard time when the government tries to tell me what to eat, or not to smoke. If the government truly doesn't want people engaging in certain activities then they should make those activities illegal. The government will not make these activities illegal due to the large amount of taxes generated from their sale.
The slippery slope regarding this issue extends beyond smoking and fast food. The government has been incrementally regulating social activities and the end result will be a state that tells people what to eat, where to shop, what kind of car to drive and ultimately what to believe. We have seen this many times in history, from the Nazi's in Germany to the Communists in Russia and China. The difference in America is that no one will come out and say that they are trying to engineer a socialist state. They will just chip away at your freedoms bit by bit. And by the time the majority of Americans become wise to this agenda, it may be too late.
Fast food is already under attack in the U.S. and elsewhere around the globe. In the city of Cotati in California the Council has voted to make permanent its ban on fast food restaurants. In New York, after pushing through a controversial smoking ban, Mayor Bloomberg's health department turned to fighting obesity and the restaurants that enable it. The Malaysian government has considered a ban on all fast food advertising. Prince Charles has stated publicly that Mc Donalds should be banned for promoting an unhealthy diet to children. Paul Zimmet, professor of diabetes at Monash University in Australia says that fast foods, processed snacks and sugary drinks can cause as much ill health as cigarettes, and should be taxed like tobacco and banned from schools and public institutions.
On the surface, all of this really doesn't sound like a bad idea. After all what's wrong with encouraging people to stop smoking, have a healthy diet, and exercise more often? I'll tell you what I believe is wrong with this, I call it social engineering. In a free society, it is up to the individual to choose how he or she lives their life, so long as their actions do not infringe upon someone elses freedoms. I don't smoke or drink alcohol, but I defend the rights of people who choose to engage in these activities. I have a hard time when the government tries to tell me what to eat, or not to smoke. If the government truly doesn't want people engaging in certain activities then they should make those activities illegal. The government will not make these activities illegal due to the large amount of taxes generated from their sale.
The slippery slope regarding this issue extends beyond smoking and fast food. The government has been incrementally regulating social activities and the end result will be a state that tells people what to eat, where to shop, what kind of car to drive and ultimately what to believe. We have seen this many times in history, from the Nazi's in Germany to the Communists in Russia and China. The difference in America is that no one will come out and say that they are trying to engineer a socialist state. They will just chip away at your freedoms bit by bit. And by the time the majority of Americans become wise to this agenda, it may be too late.
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