Government is not the answer...

CPAC has been meeting over the weekend. I will admit, I haven't paid much attention to it, except for what liberal talk show hosts have said about it. It appears that Rush Limbaugh, has taken front and center of the stage. Which is so disturbing, because I always equated Rush with Howard Stern, loud and offensive, but not to be taken seriously.

That said, it obvious that I don't believe in the mainstream conservative movement, and feel morally opposed to many of their views. That said, one tenet of Republicanism, and libertarianism for that matter, that I strongly approve of is personal responsibility. I do believe that people should on their own make choices that are wise and responsible. I also think people should make choices that don't harm others.

Unfortunately, I find that most people don't.


Recently, while scanning my local television network's website for local news, I found an article about our city passing a law banning smoking in the car with children.

As I read through the comments, I noticed a disturbing trend. A few people who commented favored this legislation. The majority strongly opposed this legislation.

I understood their opposition. Should individual freedoms be infringed upon for the welfare of the good?

And I might have stayed sympathetic, if so many weren't adamant that they would continue to smoke in front of their children.

Despite all the evidence that second hand smoke is unhealthy for children, these people felt their rights to smoke outweighed their child's right to health.

And so despite my reservations, I am now convinced that the law needs to be passed, because children can't protect themselves, we need to make it illegal to harm them. (yes yes, this is so a heated statement, but let's get there when we get there.) Although what I would prefer is that laws weren't made but instead people took personal responsibility for their behavior and behaved in a way that both protected themselves and everyone else.

And perhaps, if a person's behavior was only affecting themselves, I would be willing to let them pay the consequences for their actions by themselves. But the reality is that the consequences of irresponsibility often have more victims that just the irresponsible.

Ironically enough, the next legislation my city government is working on: Banning texting while driving. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29186208/