It Is Dangerous to Be Right When the Government Is Wrong - Andrew P. Napolitano [68]
While trans fats, sugar, and salt—like all things in our diet—should be consumed in moderation, it is not the job or interest of the government to determine what should or should not be consumed by a free individual. These dietary choices are highly personal as they deal with the sustenance of our own bodies—what we eat, what we drink, and how much we eat and drink. It is our natural right as freethinking human beings to make these healthy or unhealthy decisions and live with the consequences. In implementing restrictive food and drink policies, the government is merely treating us like children, deeming us incapable of determining the course of our own health and fitness. This government-knows-best attitude is highly invasive, offensive, and demeaning and will result in more harm than benefit.
When the government makes health decisions on our behalf, we are deprived of the opportunity to learn what is or is not healthy for our own bodies. We thereby become complacent and dependent on the government’s (many times incorrect) policies. The government bases its policies only on medical advice it wants to hear and which is often arbitrary, changing from year to year. For example, in the 1980s, the food industry was told to replace saturated fats like coconut oil and butter with oil containing trans fat. Now, science has obviously changed its mind. For this reason, we cannot depend on the government to make these kinds of decisions for us. These decisions are ours, and ours alone.
And one last story of Nanny State absurdity. In April 2010, Santa Clara County, California, passed an ordinance banning restaurants from giving out toys with meals of more than 485 calories! The law bans any “toy, game, trading card, admission ticket or other consumer product, whether physical or digital.”7 A critic of the legislation, Eric Felten, doubted its efficacy, commenting in the Wall Street Journal,
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If cheapo trinkets are so seductive, why don’t some enterprising health advocates launch a restaurant chain devoted to cauliflower and Brussels sprouts and then package the stuff with fabulous toys? And don’t forget the cartoon characters, which surely have the mesmeric power to overcome even the most vegephobic. After all, what kid wouldn’t kill for some Sponge Bob-brand seaweed salad?8
The government has taken its nannying too far. We are all grown up. Except in the government’s eyes.
Kidney Shortage Is the Fault of Our Self-appointed Protectors
The most reliable and natural way for an individual to acquire something he or she desires is through a system of trade. For example, A has the freedom to trade with B so long as B wishes to trade with A. This voluntary exchange is a natural right and ensures that both parties walk away with something each party wants. This uncomplicated concept goes back to the beginning of time. A man could trade animal skins for meat, gold for tools, or corn for wheat (or today, money for toothpaste). The theory really is as simple as a fifth grader trading her peanut butter sandwich for her friend’s two chocolate chip cookies. The desires of both parties are fulfilled, and no rights are violated because the exchange was completely voluntary.
Unfortunately, the federal government thinks it knows what is best for you, your body, and your exchanges. Say you are cutting a piece of plywood at your home. At the sight of a mouse at your feet, you jump, lose control of the circular saw, and consequently cut off a piece of your finger. Ironically enough, the government says you can buy poison to kill that rodent (exchanging money for the toxic substance), but the government says you cannot buy a finger to replace the one lost at the mercy of the saw. The state claims it has outlawed the sale of organs and body parts for your well-being and safety. Unfortunately for your well-being, even if it is available, you cannot acquire that lost finger because the state says so.
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By preventing the buying and selling of organs, the government is making it extremely difficult