One of my Facebook friends put on his page yesterday the following:
"Wish there was no smoking in Katy Restaurants!"
Katy, Texas is where he and I live, and there are many restaurants in this town that allow smoking. They have sections for the patrons who participate in that activity and sections for those who don't. To read the comment, one would think that EVERY restaurant in Katy allows smoking. Nothing could be further from the truth. There are many that don't. Far more than those that do.
The comment goes a lot deeper than one man's opinion about what he would personally like to see. Last time I checked, tobacco use is a legal activity. It is also legal for people who OWN and RUN restaurants to CHOOSE what kind of LEGAL activity can occur in THEIR establishments. It is equally true that if one does not like what kind of activity goes on in a certain establishment, he or she can CHOOSE not to go in and patronize the place.
But NOOOOO. A person that feels the way he does places his wants and desires above all others. Why should he have to go somewhere else and eat simply because those peasant tobacco smoking lepers are in there stinking up the place? Soon, an anti-tobacco crusader like him will rise up with a sword of civil duty in one hand and a Bible in the other and charge into the fray of the Katy Town Hall and demand that all must conform to his likes, dislikes, beliefs and non-beliefs. After all, smokers are the dregs of society and if they want to smoke, they can bloody well do it outside after they've finished eating.
In England, it is against the law to smoke in any building. It is a proven fact that when the government outlawed smoking in pubs, business fall off was one of the immediate impacts. Pubs, which are more than just bars, are closing down across Great Britain at an alarming rate. So, while all the do-gooders and civil rights preventers can sleep well knowing they've done their duty, people who relied on these businesses for their livelihood are left holding the bag.
Who are these people who believe they have a right to tell a business owner what they can or cannot allow in their place of business if it's a legal activity? Now, I realize this is just a comment. I doubt this person is going to raise the battle flag. But it is a comment with poison in it that can one day affect him as much as it does anyone else.
Which one of you can rightfully say that you saw Bloomberg's law against the Big Gulp coming? Which one of you can rightfully say that you saw Bloomberg's law against new mother's using baby formula coming? There is a litany of laws and civic rules across our country that restrict or outright ban legitimate and lawful activities just because some liberal or some do-gooder has decided that it personally doesn't fit their lifestyle. What this does is erode the foundation of all our civil liberties and makes local, state and national governments think they can impose even more sanctions upon us to make us less fat, less sick, less energy consuming, less vocal, less free.
Let me tell you something. Your liberty ends where mine begins, and vice versa. You know what I do when I go into a place and I don't like what's going on there? I leave. And, I don't go back. I have no problem with the owner, the patrons or the activity (if it's legal). If that's what they want to do in that place, then that's THEIR business. My liberty ends where theirs begins. What I do is then find a place that adheres to my personal taste and is full of people that are of a like mind. But to say that you wish that ALL places of business adhere to what YOU want, is a selfish, self absorbed, impudent, holier than thou statement of proportions that may well one day affect us all in other areas of freedom and liberty losses.
So, if you don't like restaurants in Katy that allow smoking, hit 'em where it hurts. In the pocket book. Don't go there. And when you don't go there, don't whine about what's being allowed like you're in grade school and didn't get your lollipop. Grow up.