Jefferson Review

"Your Liberty is Our Interest"

Home /  Archives / Links / Quotes / Book Reviews / Advertise /Contact us / Subscribe / Calendar

Smoking Bans and Bears; A Lack of Imagination on Education Possibilities; The Death Rate is still 100%

By Theresa Fritz Camoriano

1.  Smoking bans and bears -  Louisville recently passed an ordinance that bans smoking in most privately-owned businesses, with a few exceptions.  No sooner was the ink dry than the anti-smoking forces began seeking to close the “loopholes” in the ordinance in order to get rid of those exceptions.

          If all the businesses had stood together to oppose the ordinance on the principal of respecting private property rights, they might have succeeded in preventing the ban.  However, some businesses thought they would get a competitive advantage from the ban, and some politically powerful businesses were not concerned about allowing the Mom and Pop restaurants to fall under the current ban as long as they could get an exception for themselves. 

          Now, nearly everyone else has already fallen under the current smoking ordinance, the precedent of trampling on the private property rights of business owners has been established, and those who had relied on political power to carve out exceptions for themselves will have few allies left to help them.  It is reminiscent of:

First they came for the Socialists, and I didn’t speak up,

because I wasn’t a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I didn’t speak up,

because I wasn’t a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up,

because I wasn't a Jew.

Then they came for me, and there was no one left

to speak up for me.

          Too bad people regularly fail to see that they must stand up in defense of the private property rights of others if they want to ensure that their own rights will be protected in turn.  They seem to think that, when a bear is chasing them, if they can just outrun their neighbor, they will be alright.  They forget that, once the neighbor has been eaten, the bear almost always gets hungry again! 

2.       A lack of imagination on education possibilities – A bill has been prefiled in the Kentucky legislature to provide scholarships for children with learning disabilities in order to enable their parents to obtain educational services for them outside of the public schools.  This law would provide a choice to the families of students who now are trapped in a public school that is not providing them a good education.  Unfortunately, there already has been opposition to the proposal, with opponents arguing that services are not available for special needs students all over the state, so the scholarship is really a sham.  This argument shows a real lack of imagination on the part of scholarship opponents. 

          First, just because a scholarship may not solve all the problems for all special needs students does not mean we should prevent those whom it could help from getting that help.  How can giving people a choice possibly make the situation any worse than it is right now?

          Second, while it may be true that services are not offered all over the state today, there can be little doubt that they will become available when the resources to pay for them become available through the scholarships. 

          An enterprising teacher may begin a small school to teach a few students.  Several parents may join together to start a school.  The possibilities are endless.  Where there is a demand and there are resources, the services will be offered.  That’s the American way.

          The naysayers should never doubt that motivated parents will move mountains on behalf of their children if given half a chance. 

          I wonder how many real, flesh and blood children those scholarship opponents are willing to sacrifice on behalf of their theories about public education.

3.       The death rate is 100% - These days, people seem to be obsessed about health.  When the anti-smoking nannies finish having their way with us, then the obesity police will begin their assault on restaurants and fat people.  There is a never-ending quest to make the air and water cleaner, no matter what the cost, even if it has not been shown to improve health.  Children are required to wear helmets in order to roller skate or ride their bikes; sugary foods are being removed from the schools; and Al Gore has many people convinced that the oceans will rise up and swallow us if we keep driving our cars. 

          Sometimes it might help us keep things in perspective if we remember that the surest predictor of death is birth, and the death rate still is 100%.   Then, maybe we will focus our attention on making the most of our lives while we have the wonderful gift of life, knowing that, no matter how much energy we spend on trying not to die, we will fail. 

          While I’m all for living a healthy lifestyle, it is not healthy to make health an obsession.  Is it such an achievement to live a long time, or is the real achievement to have lived a life that has stood for something and has been of some use, regardless of its length?

Weather (Louisville) / Mapquest /  White Pages / Business Search / CNN / Dictionary / E-card / MSN