Frank Watson: Who Appointed Government as My Savior?

Some of you young folks may not believe this but my whole generation grew up without hand sanitizer, and we rode our bicycles without helmets! Men who rode motorcycles looked cool in black leather jackets with wavy hair blowing in the breeze.

I can’t imagine James Dean in a helmet? I think riding a motorcycle is dangerous under the best conditions, so I choose not to do so.

But for those who like the danger and the exhilarating feeling of freedom should have the right to assume the risk.

If I rode a racing bicycle at 30 miles an hour, I would wear a helmet.

But I prefer that government let me make that decision rather than dictate that I wear a helmet when I ride my retro-bike to the store.

Many cities even make toddlers wear helmets when they ride their trikes! Years ago, I put seat belts on my old Ford because I thought seat belts were a good idea.

But I resent the government assuming the responsibility to keep me safe.

Policemen have far more important things to do than to patrol seat belt usage.

I should be able to decide what is safe for me as long as I don’t endanger someone else.

It should not be the government’s job to save us from ourselves?

At times, government attempts to be our savior amount to “I told you so”. I have done some stupid things in my life, but the absolute dumbest was to start smoking. I was 18, in college, and away from home for the first time. I considered myself a man, and in my world, men smoked. Ergo... It took me 26 years to admit that I was addicted to nicotine and postpone my next cigarette. During the time I was smoking two packs a day, the government mandated that a warning be added to every package of cigarettes. The warning had zero impact on those who smoked or were contemplating smoking, but now the U.S. Surgeon General could say “I told you so.”

Sometimes government attempts to save us make so sense at all. Many Americans, including myself, are too fat. I know I’m too fat, and if I want to lose weight, I will. I have a calorie chart that I pull out every New Year’s Day when I go on a diet. Requiring calorie counts on salad dressing bottles is no help. Listing the calories on packages of potato chips defies logic. You only eat them if you don’t care about calories. Forcing restaurants to include calorie counts on their menus degrades the ambiance. Eating out is a treat for me. I want the freedom to indulge without being reminded that hot crab dip is fattening.

The government occasionally rewards stupidity.

I used to live in a pine forest in Spokane County.

The annual fire season was a concern for us, so we took practical precautions and bought adequate fire insurance.

One year, a fire destroyed the home of a neighbor who neither maintained a fire break nor carried fire insurance.

As a reward for his poor decisions, my neighbor received state emergency funds to rebuild his house.

Our tax money bailed him out.

I still wonder about that.

I visited a friend in New Orleans the year following Hurricane Katrina.

He took me to the site of the worst flooding.

The area had been a swamp before the Corps of Engineers built levies to channel the river through town.

Densely populated neighborhoods were built in the old swamp below the level of the river.

When the inevitable happened, the government came to the rescue of those who chose to forgo flood insurance, and the taxpayers picked up the tab.

The government has changed the rules such that those who have the remotest possibility of flood damage must now purchase flood insurance.

My house sits on a spot that has never been under water in recorded history, but I am required to purchase flood insurance just in case.

I would rather that government not come to my rescue.

(Frank Watson is a retired Air Force Colonel and a long time resident of Eastern Washington. He has been a free lance columnist for over 18 years.)