Quote:


"perhaps your right it might be safer...but as long as this is a free country I'm also free to be an idiot, whether that's by smoking, drinking, playing the lottery, sending my $$$ to questionable televangilists, driving a SUV, not recycling, sking, scuba diving, mountain climbing, having 10 children on a Wal-mart income, or any other of potentialy harmful legal activities and that includes not wearing a helmet."



I couldn't agree more. But remember, the same people who think it is their duty to take care of you whether you like it not, are the also the ones who want to control your behavior, whether you like it or not. Once they have accepted (quite eagerly) the responsibility of caring for your medical, financial and social needs, the next logical step is to limit your choices (for your own good of course.) If we are unwilling to stand on our own and personally accept the consequences of our choices, if we expect “society” to insure us against all risk and consequences, we have to expect that society to act to limit the amount of risk to which it is exposed. If government is going to act like mommy and daddy and care for our needs and shield us from the cold cruel world, we shouldn’t be surprised when our governmental “parents” also limit our freedoms and choices. The welfare state is ultimately authoritarian.

We all like to think of ourselves as rugged individualists. But when push comes to shove most of us are sheep who do what we are told. Worst of all, a lot of us become unpaid agents of whoever is controlling the agenda by enforcing the current dogma on the few rugged individualists who actually exist.