I'm so glad to see Bloomberg's attempt to control soda and other random sweet fluid portions fail. Thank God for that New York judge; now let's hope it stands. I can understand the neurotic need to control the behavior of other people in the name of doing it for their own good, I am a mother and a wife, but what worries me is how many people want Bloomberg to succeed or think he didn't go far enough.
Reading the comments in the NYTs, one can't help thinking that the people who want more control over other people's behavior assume themselves to be better in thought and deed than those they want to change. It's disgusting. They worry so much about those fat families going to the movies and buying gigantic sodas..then many of them link the large sodas to their own increased health care premiums.
Some examples:
...I will end up paying for their heart disease because they will end up on Medicare. You may want to live in a society that lets people rot to death in the gutter if they made poor choices earlier in life or were too lazy, stupid, or unlucky to have saved enough money for a triple bypass in their old age...
...The Big Gulp you drink damages me when I have to pay for your medical care when you get diabetes and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars for your treatments...
...I applaud Mayor Bloomberg's initiative. Government has a positive role to play by encouraging or leading behaviour that is manifestly in the public interest...
...While sized-up soda is lauded and welcomed by Americans, Europeans see it as being extreme vulgar. It furthermore manifests the lack of moderation and refinement in the U.S. consumer culture...
...Perhaps if ordinary people realized their tastes were being deliberately manipulated, preying on subliminal messaging, taste profile optimization all in order to extract more money from their pockets they could be "trusted" to make well founded decisions...
...There are certain populations in many urban areas that disproportionately consumer sugar in the form of sodas and juice, are disproportionately obese and/or diabetic, and also disproportionately rely on government services (i.e. tax dollars) to cover their health care...
...There are many ways our government could make society smarter, healthier, safer, and wealthier, if people didn't get so up-in-arms over every little liberty they've heretofore taken for granted...
Then, after posting these revelatory comments, these sages head out to the nearest cocktail bars. I know because I read the entertainment section of the Times. No lack of articles on drinking. No bashing drinkers of expensive French brandy - sooo healthy.
Alright, to be fair, I really had to go looking for these comments. So entertaining! Even 2/3 of NYT readers think Bloomberg is overreaching. But that fascist one third...worrisome.
We all think we're strong enough, good enough, wise enough to wield the government for good, but, in the end, it will gain power from your efforts and destroy you. Or is that the Ring of Power? Either way, good to keep in mind when trying to control other people's behavior you happen to find distasteful. Work on your own soul.
This is brilliant. I just shared this with my 13 year old daughter who has an assignment to write a story a la George Orwell's Animal Farm. I wanted to make it relevant to today and you just helped me tremendously.
Posted by: SoCalLynn | 03/19/2013 at 02:12 PM
Thanks!
Your daughter's assignment sounds like a fun one. I may have to steal that idea for my own kids....
MTh
Posted by: MTheads | 03/19/2013 at 07:19 PM