“When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them…”
From the Washington Times:
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on Sunday: Sometimes government does know best. And in those cases, Americans should just cede their rights.
“I do think there are certain times we should infringe on your freedom,” Mr. Bloomberg said, during an appearance on NBC. He made the statement during discussion of his soda ban — just shot down by the courts — and insistence that his fight to control sugary drink portion sizes in the city would go forth.
And Bloomie has them in reverse proportion…
An ounce of arrogance will neutralize a ton of intelligence.
The Lockean ideal, first seen in practice under the Declaration and the Constitution, is that citizens cede certain areas of their individual liberty to a government in order to guard the remainder of their liberty.
Governments, then, should limit themselves to maintaining physical safety of the body politic (armed forces, treaties, police and fire), enforcing the rule of law (criminal and civil courts, even the most earnest of partners sometimes need a ruling on contract terms), providing those few goods which are genuinely public goods (clean air and water, freedom itself), and probably transportation infrastructure. Maaaybe education.
With a libertarian bend, I think anything the government wants to make either mandatory or prohibited belongs under “strict scrutiny.” If you act to harm or endanger others, that is government business. Which adults have consensual sex with which, what you eat and drink, where you pray and if you do at all, what movies you watch or skip — none of these things are government business. Obesity and diabetes are not government business but personal business.
I had a posterior anatomical reference in mind. But “elitist” works as well.
What an elitist!