I'm Doing This For Your Own Good

                                                             

Prohibition has always been with us. Or it would be more accurate to substitute “Prohibitions have” for the first two words, since I'm not referring specifically to alcohol and the eighteenth amendment to the Constitution.ⁱ

It began when life began, with chemicals that controlled particular functions, among them there were signals and warnings about other nearby creatures. Instincts followed and, eventually, human decisions about what was and was not permitted. “We”ⁱⁱ and “They”ⁱⁱⁱ decided what was appropriate behavior, and prohibited – or at least made us shy away from – those things and actions that were unsuitable or forbidden.

I raise this issue because two items in the news yesterday seem to be related to it, although in different ways. The first was the bull^iv by Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York that stairway doors should be kept open and elevator use discouraged. If he had said that the purpose was to conserve electricity during this heat spell there would have been room for debate along political and economic lines. His reasoning, however, was that as a society we're too fat. Additional exercise, in the form of climbing stairs, was important to our health, and he would see to it that we were fit. It would not be a legal requirement that we walk – we would not be prohibited from riding the elevator – but the point would be made that the Mayor was more concerned about our health than we, and, given the opportunity, he would protect us from ourselves.

This is not the first time that he's tried to do this. Last year Mayor Bloomberg decreed that there would be a ban on large soft drinks containing too much sugar because he wanted to lessen the amount of obesity. He knew what was best for us. His edict was overturned by the courts on the day before it was to go into effect,^v so we can still get large drinks. They may not be good for us,^vi but it's our decision as to whether or not we drink them.

The other related item, although very different in many ways, is the release of information about the photographing of license plates and the use of GPS tracking of our movements. The ACLU has issued statements deploring this action (among others) and there were numerous commentaries on it yesterday. A great deal of concern was expressed over the retention of the information after it was determined that there was no evidence of criminal behavior. It appears that with the technical “progress” we have made, computer memory is getting closer and closer to infinite. So why not keep track of everybody? It's certainly a lot cheaper than it used to be, and maybe we'll have some use for the information in the future.

We learned only recently that all our telephone calls are monitored and recorded. We're told that it's for the sake of national security, and perhaps it is. That will have to be sorted out. But in the meantime all we know is that more and more of our actions are being “supervised” by our government. We are aware of some such actions but, I suspect, there are many others that haven't yet been revealed. It's the kind of thing that George Orwell prophesied. Not only does the government know what's good for us, but it knows more and more about us.

In 1776 we proclaimed our liberty. In the Declaration of Independence^vii we spoke of King George's “invasions on the rights of the people,” and we seem to be suffering from the same problem now. Our Founding Fathers established a government with checks and balances designed to ensure our liberty and to prevent government from impinging on our rights. The republic we established was limited in size, and there was a great regard for individual freedom. We established self rule for the individual as well as the nation. In the Bill of Rights we protected our citizens from their rulers.

Now we have enlarged that limited government which was originally established, and we're using it as a tool against its own people.^viii We claim it's for our own good, but I'm not sure.  I suspect we won't thank them later.

i       Although that is certainly an important example.

ii     And He. But we should not be foolish enough to blame Him for the mistakes we have made.

iii    Government and organized religion are two of the major actors, although our own instinctive taboos (mostly sexual in origin) and superstitions play a large part.

iv     No. I meant “decree.” If you thought it had another meaning in this case the fault is yours, though I might agree.

v      It's interesting that contentious issues like this are never settled until the last minute. It's almost as if no one pays attention until a problem looms.

vi     There is no dispute concerning the public health concerns raised by obesity, just as there is no dispute concerning the harm caused by alcohol and tobacco. Nonetheless, we – unless we're minors – can buy a six-pack of beer and a carton of cigarettes and kill ourselves without running afoul of the law. Indeed, suicide and “assisted suicide” are becoming legal in more and more jurisdictions.

vii    Read it some time.

viii   In his campaign for the Presidency, our Chief Executive promised “transparency,” and that he would not commit the sins he attributed to the prior administration. His motto was “Yes We Can.” Unfortunately he quickly forgot about the transparency and decided that Yes He Could wield power as he saw fit. History will evaluate his actions.