BY RUSSELL TURNER
THE LOCAL FEEDLOT
For the majority of my life I have been involved in the farming and ranching business. It seems like second nature to have livestock and care for them. Since farm animals are dumb animals, it is necessary for us humans to make the decisions of how they are fed and cared for. The farmer selects the type of feed that will insure that the animal will be healthy and grow well, but in the end the animals will become food for us humans. Recently the mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, proposed a ban on the sale of soda drinks over 16-ounces (about 1/2 liter) at restaurants, movie theaters, sports stadia, street carts, fast food chains, etc. Maybe the mayor feels that we dumb humans are in need of someone smarter than us mere mortals to make all of our decisions in life, in the same way farmers take care of their animals.
Bloomberg stressed that we have a responsibility to combat obesity, diabetes, and heart disease, and that the government must consequently regulate what people can/cannot put in their bodies. Even our First Lady Michelle Obama came down to applaud the idea.
I agree that most of us don’t always live as healthy a lifestyle as we should, but I feel that it is our right as free people to use common sense and personal responsibility to decide what is right for each one of us. I have noticed over the years that our citizens are not alarmed by bans such as this. Government is based on the principle of awarding a small handful of individuals a set of powers that no human being should wield-- the power to kill. The power to steal. The power to wage war. The power to control what we put in our own bodies. Throughout our lives governments use these powers to create artificial obligations and reduce the natural freedom that we were born with. It's so commonplace that most people have simply become accustomed to it. According to some polls only 30% of the population oppose the soda ban.
Banning certain serving sizes of soft drinks to some may not seem like a life altering event, but we need to realize that the more regulations that are passed the less freedom we will have. We Americans need to re-learn the art of self reliance and self discipline. We have gotten into a bad habit of not wanting to make the hard decisions in life and are willing to allow some government bureaucrat to do it for us. Just remember the story about the cattle and the feedlot. The cow is content to have every bit of good food that the farmer can supply, but in the end the cow is eaten.
THE LOCAL FEEDLOT
For the majority of my life I have been involved in the farming and ranching business. It seems like second nature to have livestock and care for them. Since farm animals are dumb animals, it is necessary for us humans to make the decisions of how they are fed and cared for. The farmer selects the type of feed that will insure that the animal will be healthy and grow well, but in the end the animals will become food for us humans. Recently the mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, proposed a ban on the sale of soda drinks over 16-ounces (about 1/2 liter) at restaurants, movie theaters, sports stadia, street carts, fast food chains, etc. Maybe the mayor feels that we dumb humans are in need of someone smarter than us mere mortals to make all of our decisions in life, in the same way farmers take care of their animals.
Bloomberg stressed that we have a responsibility to combat obesity, diabetes, and heart disease, and that the government must consequently regulate what people can/cannot put in their bodies. Even our First Lady Michelle Obama came down to applaud the idea.
I agree that most of us don’t always live as healthy a lifestyle as we should, but I feel that it is our right as free people to use common sense and personal responsibility to decide what is right for each one of us. I have noticed over the years that our citizens are not alarmed by bans such as this. Government is based on the principle of awarding a small handful of individuals a set of powers that no human being should wield-- the power to kill. The power to steal. The power to wage war. The power to control what we put in our own bodies. Throughout our lives governments use these powers to create artificial obligations and reduce the natural freedom that we were born with. It's so commonplace that most people have simply become accustomed to it. According to some polls only 30% of the population oppose the soda ban.
Banning certain serving sizes of soft drinks to some may not seem like a life altering event, but we need to realize that the more regulations that are passed the less freedom we will have. We Americans need to re-learn the art of self reliance and self discipline. We have gotten into a bad habit of not wanting to make the hard decisions in life and are willing to allow some government bureaucrat to do it for us. Just remember the story about the cattle and the feedlot. The cow is content to have every bit of good food that the farmer can supply, but in the end the cow is eaten.
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