Personal Freedom Part III: Some people want to keep others from becoming rich. That’s bunk because if certain of us don’t get rich then where do we get our jobs? Remember that these rich guys produce jobs because they took a risk and it paid off. That is to say, they did something fruitful and they have a right to pick the fruit. Now, I will admit that I object to some becoming wealthy but that’s because they don’t produce anything and they don’t peddle anything except themselves. Want an example? How about Al Gore.
By the way, don’t give me any hogwash about “the government can do it better.” A decade ago, Venezuela was a prosperous nation. Look at it now. Oh, yes, Cuba. They have had sixty years or more and, as I understand it, most of the population aren’t real happy.
Some people want to keep others from having a cigarette because “it increases medical costs for everybody.” If that’s the case, are we going to make football and all other contact sports illegal? With respect to cost, if you think that there is no similarity between football and cigarettes, just consider the medical costs involved in sports injuries. If you don’t know, it’s real big. Note here, if you want statistics, just Google “cost sports injuries.” Now that I think on it, given the cost involved, maybe we should make all sports illegal because you can get hurt playing tennis and golf. And we could get real silly and rule out tiddly-winks. (I mean, a man’s thumb is important.)
If you haven’t guessed, telling people how to live, dictating how much money a man may earn, and making things you disagree with illegal just isn’t my cup of tea.
Harm Nobody
My idea of personal freedom is that, if you harm nobody, with the possible exception of yourself, you can do it. I believe that for both word and deed.
To that, some will say, “If you drink too much you will harm your family.” Others will say, “If you gamble too much you will harm your family.” Hell, the truth is, if you play golf too much you will harm your family.
Behaving judiciously is called personal responsibility and only you can be responsible for your own person. If man is truly irresponsible, somehow, someway, he will hurt others, regardless of his vice.
Just remember that we were all going to be saved by the Eighteenth Amendment. And you know where that got us. Men dead and blind because of bad hooch. A large criminal organization which exists to this day. And, don’t forget, that it opened the door and gave reason for the wider spread of narcotics usage.
