Today’s topic of discussion concerns the involvement of the government in the individual lives of citizens. How much control or influence should a government have in my life?
Governments were created to establish organization. All governments have obligations that must be fulfilled in order to create and maintain this organization. For example, laws must be made, rights must be established, and there must be a system for how political leaders are selected. However, organization can be created with limited control over each individual’s life. An example of this would be the “seat belt law.” There are certain laws, such as rules against robbery, that are necessary because they prevent immoral and unfair behavior. But a law requiring drivers to wear seat belts does not prevent any behavior that could potentially hurt someone other than the driver. It is the driver’s choice to not wear a seatbelt. This may not be a very intelligent decision, but it is his/her decision. The United States were founded on the principal that each citizen would be given great freedom of choice. The more we are limited, the less human we become.
For as long as I can remember I have felt that, as an American, I am able to acquire what I need, work for what I want, and be the person that I choose to be. I will follow the laws that are laid out for me, because most of them have very good reasons for their existence. But I do not want the government making all of my decisions for me. If I want to eat junk food I will, and if I want to drive without a seatbelt then it is my decision. I understand that these are unhealthy decisions, and I am glad that I am informed of that. But I do not want someone telling me how to live my life. Everyone in this country has an equal opportunity to create their own life, but that does not mean that we are all equal. I am different from my classmates, who are all different from each other. We should not have to live our lives in exactly the same fashion as one another, which I feel is the direction that some people are taking.
In my opinion, government control should be limited to the controls that are absolutely necessary. Otherwise, we will slowly slip down into a system in which every citizen has a set diet, children will be unable to play sports because competition hurts feelings, and individual personality will dry up.
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Clint, I liked your take on government control. You made some points that made me want to cheer for Team Citizen. If the government starts getting too involved then I'm gonna start "cracking skulls." Mama is proud of this post. Keep up great blogs, mister!
ReplyDeleteClint I really like your view on government control and I too feel the same way on many of the points you brought up great job!
ReplyDeleteIts true that the government needs to keep limitations, but when its own citizens are either dying or being permanently injured and it can be prevented by a simple law then I think it should be enforced. It is still your choice to not wear one, the government is looking out for your well being. The government could push it and go deeper and start to control our lives, but little things like this are nothing that we should dispute because really whats the benefit of not wearing your seatbelt?
ReplyDeleteWell put Clint. I completely understand your agrument. I agree that the government is starting to head in the direction that soon, Americans will not have the freedom of choice, which is what our country stands for. Nice work.
ReplyDeleteClint, good work. Remember to incorporate or integrate the readings into the blog. The authors in favor of consumer driven care would agree with your position.
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