There are two competing American behavioral archetypes: Uncle Sam and Lady Liberty. Uncle Sam, stern but loving, exhorts us to defend our country and be good citizens. Lady Liberty stands for, well, freedom. The statue embodying her message, rising above the waters of New York Harbor, announces that this is the country where you can be anyone you want, do anything you want — as long as you don’t do it in the street and frighten the horses.
Occupying a middle ground between Uncle Sam and Lady Liberty is what we libertarians call the Nanny State. The Nanny State is the national bossypants, always telling us what not to do. Don’t smoke. Don’t eat so much. Don’t drink. Where are you going on that bicycle? Put on your helmet — now!…
I’m not against the new cigarette labels, but I’m not sure I’m for them. Cigarettes kill — no argument there. So does alcohol. If that pack of Marlboros is going to look like a page from a medical textbook, shouldn’t bottles of Bud carry pictures of car crashes, or cirrhotic livers, or beaten wives? Shouldn’t Big Macs come with photos of early contestants from “The Biggest Loser”?
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