What if I decided it’s indecent to show your hands in
public? After all, hands are used for all sorts of personal and sometimes dirty
tasks. Hands are used for wiping your butt and blowing your nose, for changing
baby diapers and bathing children, to masturbate, etc., so I don’t want to have
to see that personal part of your body. Say I find a group of people who agree
with me and we lobby the government to make a law that everyone has to wear
gloves in public.
That’s not as far-fetched as you might think. After all, we
already have these sorts of laws now and the vast majority of the public thinks
those laws are reasonable. It seems to me that once we give the government
permission to ban something or require something, the next time they want to do
it, well...we’ve already given permission.
We’ve given the government permission to require certain
body parts be covered so what’s to stop them from adding to the list? If you
can be required to wear pants, what else can be required? I’m not advocating for
or against public nudity; I’m merely following the laws we have now to their
logical conclusion. People tend to misunderstand, sometimes deliberately, and
claim *that* couldn’t happen but history shows that many people would be
shocked if they knew some of the laws we have now in their future. Laws they
would have said could never happen.
Along with deciding what is decent for us, we’ve also given
the government permission to ban substances so what’s to stop them from adding
to that list? What’s that you say? Those things are “bad for you.” So, you’d be
okay with banning coffee, alcohol (yeah, that went over well the last time they
did it), and cigarettes? In addition, what about donuts and candy and sugar and
myriad other things someone has decided aren’t good for us.
There are those who say *religion* isn’t good for a person
so this brings me to the fact that we’ve given the government permission to
limit our activities. What’s to stop them from adding to the list? Should
gambling be illegal? How far should the government be allowed to limit your
parenting decisions? There are already stories in the news of children being
taken by CFS because the parents [gasp] allowed them to play outside. In
addition, who should get to decide with whom you are allowed to associate—what
types of relationships you have—including dating, sex, and marriage? If you
think the government should be allowed to control those decisions, how can you protest
their control of your religious choices? Should people be allowed to attend the
church of their choice or even go to church at all? Should the government have
any say in which churches can be allowed?
Now, go back and reread this, substituting the word
*government* with *other people*. Because that’s what government is: the
people. If you are okay with controlling the activities of consenting adults,
you can’t complain when other people limit yours. I shouldn’t have to explain
this to you so I’ll let Frederick Douglass tell you: “No man can put a chain
about the ankle of his fellow man without at last finding the other end
fastened about his own neck.” Try
to remember that.
Earthchild has
spoken. Your turn below.
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