The United States of Micromanagement

As someone who works in a store that has a radio station playing 24/7, I hear a lot of commercials. More than I’d like to remember, actually. And while most of the repeats make me grind my teeth simply at the sound of their intro, there’s one commercial I
actually have a problem with.

In Illinois (and perhaps everywhere else — I’m not too familiar with inter-state commercialry) a new state-sponsored commercial has popped up.

It features a narrator stating that people should always wear their seatbelts, on the off chance that a zombie might be in the back seat of your car. It also reminds you that wearing your seatbelt is the law, and that you will be pulled over for not
wearing one.

While this commercial is mind-numbingly stupid on its face, what really irritates me is the law that’s hidden beneath it. Yes, the infamous “Click it or Ticket.”

Now, I’m not saying that wearing your seatbelt is stupid or lame in any way. I instantly put mine on the second I step into a car, having done it literally hundreds of thousands of times before without even thinking about it.

But it is not my government’s right to make me wear one.

My safety is my concern, and as a functioning adult, I pretty much have it down. I know seatbelts can cause injuries, but I also know they can be the only thing stopping me from flying through the windshield in a high-speed crash.
 
I’ve weighed these risks against each other, and I’ve made my decision, and I hope anyone legally able to drive would do the same.

But the government’s micromanaging of its citizens doesn’t stop on the road.

For quite some time now, it has been illegal to smoke inside many establishments in the U.S. That doesn’t just mean hospitals or schools. Most places of business in many states cannot let their patrons smoke indoors.

At this point, most people jump up and proclaim the dangers of secondhand smoke. Sure, the smoker might have made his decision to destroy his lungs, but what about the people around him? Don’t they have a say?

No. They don’t.

As long as this smoker is in an establishment where the owner allows smoking, neither the non-smokers nor any government official has the right to put out that cigarette. Anyone who doesn’t like smoking reserves every right to take their spending money elsewhere.

And sure, the owner might lose some customers that won’t like the smoke in the air. But that is exactly how American businesses are built. Certain businesses cater to two different types of people, and as such, they should be allowed to run their businesses as they please.

All this micromanagement is not good for this country. I understand the government officials think it’s for my best interest, but don’t I know what’s best
for me?

It’s all squashing personal choice and allowing the government to make my
decisions for me.

­— kevsjack@indiana.edu