Smoking and Dwindling American Freedom

Smoking. Some love it, most hate it. Either way you look at it, though, it's a personal choice, as are many rights in this great (and bite my tongue as I type) country of ours. It's becoming more and more obvious, though, that certain freedoms are dwindling from our sights. Why smoking? It's simple. You can't force someone make a choice if they don't want to. In this case, word is being spread that there is a push to now ban smoking outside in New York City. As if restaurants and bars aren't good enough? Oh, I'm just beginning...

As an employee of a New York company, I walk through a number of smokers on my way to work, to lunch or just on a brisk afternoon walk. I don't mind the smoke. My father smoked until I was about 19, I have always been surrounded by smokers in the company I keep and I, too, (yes, innocent little me) occasionally smoke when I'm out for a night on the town. What I find funny, though, are the people who intentionally walk through the smoking sections outside Penn Station or the Port Authority and feel they have to cough to make a point. We all know, it's bad for your health. Don't be jerks about it. If you don't like it, go around it. It's not like you're in a contained area, like a bar, for example. You're outside. The smoke will dissipate within seconds. There's no need to make that little statement, "Cough! Cough!"

And now, the fact that all the smokers in New York state, Connecticut, California and a number of other states, have been pushed outside to smoke is not good enough. Now they shouldn't be allowed to smoke outside either. So what then? You'll have to go all the way home for a nicotine fix? Sure, that'll happen (in New Jersey, you're no longer allowed to smoke in your own car--that's private and personal property, right?). No, instead, we (smokers and non-smokers alike) are letting the government take away a basic, simple choice. It's not even really a right by government standards, but hey, if you want to slowly kill yourself with nicotine and tar, that's technically your personal right. This is where it gets good.

Rights. Let's see. What are some basic American rights? The right to freedom of speech and religion. The right to bear arms. The right to be secure against unlawful searches and seizures. The right to a speedy trial. These are just a few of the first 10 amendments, a.k.a. The Bill of Rights. Yes, that fateful document that this country's government was founded on. If only our forefathers could see us now. Talk about turning in their graves!

So, where to begin. Well, my favorite, freedom of speech. How often do we hear cases where "he said this" and "she said that"? That's be cause they can. Because they're allowed to by our foremost governing document. Sure, you may not like what was said, but that's up to a matter of opinion (and yes, that's a basic personal right, too). Little by little our freedom of speech is being taken away. Politically correct terms are replacing our everyday vocabulary. Hmmm, what sounds better: the bald eagle or the follicly-challenged eagle? Press reporters are being repressed in what they write. In some places, even blogs are being censored. So it's basically coming down to what the government says you can say is all you can say (or what you can't say for that matter).

Ahh yes, and the right to bear arms. If you read my earlier blog about Civil War reenacting and competitive shooting, you'll probably gather that we're a shooting family. My grandfather has been doing it for years, my cousins do it and my husband was an expert marksman in the military. We don't shoot to kill. In fact, we don't even hunt. We shoot targets, and that's it. I don't believe in owning a gun to kill, but everyone should have the right to protect their home and family. Semi-automatic weapons are not a necessity unless you're involved in a war, and they certainly do not belong on the streets. However, firearms can be effective (granted theyneed to be kept out of children's reach and with the safety on). But not these days. Too many gun-runners and criminals who shoot to kill have ruined that right, and now the government is fighting to take this right away, too.

I could go on all night about rights and freedoms. Come on, the right to a speedy trial? When was the last time that happened? I think in today's world that only applies to traffic court--if you're lucky. Freedom of religion? There's more religious persecution today than there has been since the Spanish Inquisition. You can go anywhere you want, but God, yeah, he's not allowed to go with you. Sorry. And unlawful searches and seizures--what's a warrant again? As long as you've got a badge, you can do anything you want and you act as self-righteous as you want. Probable cause is as good as anything these days--warrant or no. But, there is one thing I feel is not a right, nor should it ever become one.

I'll come right out and say it: I am fully and completely opposed to abortion. Abortion is not a right. Murder is not a right, so how is it that people fight for the "right" to kill an unborn child? Between 23-28 days, the heart of an unborn child is beating. By three months, the fetus is able to cover its ears when it gets to loud. You're going to tell me that the life forming in your womb is not a living being? No. If you feel you have the right to do anything to your body, go out and get a tattoo or a piercing. Smoke or drink yourself into a cancer-ridden, drunken mess. But just because you weren't responsible enough to use a condom or some sort of contraception doesn't mean you have the right to take someone else's life. When you decide to have that little person ripped from your womb, you're not doing anything to your body. You're destroying, limb from limb, head from shoulders, heart from soul, a little tiny being that can't even defend itself. Getting away with murder is not a right, and if you want to get it on that bad, spend the $4 or whatever it takes to get some condoms. Is 15 minutes of pleasure worth the life of someone who could love you so much and call you mommy? No.

So, I've said my piece. I'm not saying that we should all go out, start smoking and get cancer just to protest the possible (and probably definite) bans on smoking, but we should all be aware that with each little thing the government takes away, it gives them the strength and power to take away bigger freedoms and rights. Political correctness has the ball rolling on diminishing our freedom of speech. No God in public places--no more freedom of religion. It's happening. But hey, if you didn't like what I just said, remember, I'm still exercising my basic rights. Are you?

Pirate fact: Count Maurycy Beniowski took part in the Polish uprising to liberate Poland from the Russian rule and was sentenced to Siberia. After escaping, he made his way (with a crew) to Eastern Africa. He soon declared himself King of Madagascar. Though his stronghold was on an island off of Madagascar, he frequently attacked shipping vessels and held no real authority. Mauritius, a small nearby island, is named in his honor.