So easy to just say, 'Ban it'

In the Winnipeg Sun.com when I read this article, I thought about all the different ways the goverment has not given us the freedom of choice in so much of our life. It's either for the benefit to our health, safety or so on, but however you call it, choice and freedom plays no role.

Because I am on ODSP, I MUST take generic drugs whether they work for me or not. The only way I can use the medications that I was on is pay for them out of my pocket. Not an easy thing to do with the income I get.

Smokers have to pay a hefty price for a pack of smokes that the government makes a fortune from. They state it's to prevent the youth from smoking, but then decide to 'try' to take the rights of smokers from smoking in their own homes or vehiles. Does that sound like they are targetting the youth?

We know how they have targetted the Pit bulls and in some places the rotties. So we are told what breeds of dogs we are allowed.

When will we the voters tell government we want our right to choice back again or are we going to keep letting the government dictate to us how we spend our lives?

So easy to just say, 'Ban it'
By JOSEPH QUESNEL

The path to hell is often paved with good intentions.

It's a cliche, but we are living in times where that saying is not just a cute retort.

The community of Leaf Rapids has opted for political showmanship to deal with environmental challenges, rather than embrace solutions respecting freedom and responsibility.

The community's town council passed a bylaw prohibiting retailers from providing or selling plastic bags. There is no room for any middle ground or creative solution.
The idea of the ban is not new. It has been used for different causes. The Ontario government "banned" the whole pit bull canine breed from the province. They are starting to see how difficult and oppressive this law is. We also see it in the movement to ban transfat and fatty foods.

This is becoming very common and it heralds a dangerous time when belief in promoting the "good" is used to justify increasing levels of personal oppression. Just look at our laws on "hate speech." Sure, it is easy for those who hold orthodox views on these subjects to support these laws, but for dissenters it means financial and professional ruin. It is so easy to "ban" offensive speech rather than challenge it and defeat it through debate.

It is always someone's particular vision of the good that is being imposed on everyone. Philosopher Isaiah Berlin spoke about the tendency of governments, including democratic ones, to use their conception of the good as a pretext to commit atrocities. Witness the French Revolution.

In Leaf Rapids, the legitimate right of retailers to sell whatever they choose to whomever they wish seems to have been thrown out the window for someone's misguided belief they are saving the planet. Also ignored is the concept that attacking the rights of some is not justified by appealing to the "good" of the majority.
So much for discussion where dissenting voices can be heard. Banning is not about rational debate. It is the triumph of someone's will over the many.

It is so easy for the legislator to ban. It does not require creativity or innovation. It does not require forethought on whether it will achieve the legislative goals for which it was intended. This is something the authors of the national gun registry missed.

It certainly makes for good politics. Pass this law and you look like you are tough on that issue. If bans worked, we would be living in a drug- and illegal-firearm-free utopia.

These policy decisions do not require the collaboration, compromise and accommodation that define our society as liberal and democratic, not to mention reasonable. Free individuals should be treated as adults possessing dignity. What makes the Leaf Rapids case insidious is that it precludes the idea that people need to be convinced of solutions. Who needs convincing of the correctness of your cause when you have the big stick of government regulation?

While the Leaf Rapids situation is a small example, it is up to people to stand up now before the state misreads complacency as approval.

Letters to the editor should be sent to letters@wpgsun.com.