Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
- Benjamin Franklin
In the April 30th episode of Strictly Right Radio Andrew and I discussed the left’s relentless assault on individual liberty. The left, and many well meaning people, may think this to be hyperbole. This is an argument I had back in March on the Michael Coren Show. The Obama administration vindicates my position every day. We have seen it in health care, banking regulations and a whole host of other fields. They want to take away your liberty. They believe, as Ronald Reagan said of the left in his day, in “abandon[ing] the America Revolution and confess[ing] that a little intellectual elite in a far-distant capitol can plan our lives for us better than we can plan them ourselves.” The latest example of this arrogance of power comes in a pending attempt to control what children eat.
The White House warns,
“The childhood obesity epidemic in America is a national health crisis.” (of course – everything is a Crisis!)
The review by the Task Force on Childhood Obesity says one out of every three children is overweight or obese. The task force is a key part of First Lady Michelle Obama’s campaign to solve the problem of obesity within a generation. President Obama ordered the comprehensive review of the issue…
The task force wants junk food makers and marketers to go on what amounts to an advertising diet. It says media characters that are often popular with kids should only be used to promote healthy products. If voluntary efforts fail to limit marketing of less healthy products to young viewers, the task force suggests the FCC should consider new rules on commercials in children’s programming. It also challenges food retailers to stop using in-store displays to sell unhealthy food items to children.
The advisory panel proposes better food content labeling on products and vending machines. Restaurants and vending machine companies are urged to display calorie counts. The experts say the FDA and USDA should cooperate with the food and beverage industries to develop a standard system of nutrition labeling on the front of packages. The study also suggests that restaurants should re-evaluate portion sizes, improve kids’ menus and list more healthy food choices.
The White House study says school systems should consider efforts to promote healthier food in cafeterias. One idea: “swap deep fryers for salad bars.”
Some of you may say ‘so what? Obesity is a problem (though to my knowledge not an infectious disease) and this sounds like a good solution.’ You may also think that laws that forbid smoking in restaurants are a step in the right direction, because smoking is ‘bad.’ This is the slow creep of tyranny. It is not within the purview of the federal government to make such decisions for us. Is smoking bad for your health? Of course it is. I must have missed the section of the Constitution that gave the government the right to determine what is ‘good’ and what is ‘bad’ for my health. Now the FCC is going to make new rules on who can run advertisements on children’s programing based on the nutritional value of the products? Forgive me, but I thought parents were responsible for what their children put in their mouths, not the federal government. If parents want to let their children get fat, so be it – what you eat is no business of the government. Kids like sugary and fatty foods – who doesn’t? The left thinks you are just the lowly hoi polloi. As George Will said, “the core of today’s liberalism [is that] the American people are such dopes they cannot be counted upon [to make their own decisions].” Whether the state’s intentions are benevolent or malicious, the fact is that every day the left is conspiring, trying to find new ways to ‘help,’ or as Cass Sunstein says, “nudge” you in the ‘right’ direction. The result is a usurpation of liberty and usually a state orchestrated, ‘unforeseen’ disaster. It is our duty to remember that “freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same,” as Ronald Reagan said.
(H/T HA)
