Someone explain to me how smoking and cars can compare to "leading the good life." Cars and smoking? Smoking aids in the pursuit of the good life? Please. While I will admit to having had my adolescent turn at car addiction and my turn at stupid driving accidents, smoking killed and is killing me and my family by its very presence in the air. The millions who have died from passive and active smoking would hardly return to swear it was part of the good life now, would they? The millions who are suffering from an addiction to the most addictive drug discovered by humankind and delivering it through blackened lungs to their bloodstreams will agree how addicted they are and how they should stop but cannot.
Driving is not a right. It's a privilege granted by society through training, testing and licensing. Can you legally drive down sidewalks? Of course not. People there can be harmed. Can you legally drive while your mind is clouded with alcohol or other drugs? No. Because you are now more than a threat to yourself, you're a threat to innocents everywhere you're driving. These apples and oranges comparisons only make the case better for banning smoking because there is *no* use of the tobacco apple that *isn't* harmful while the use of every other orange you all keep raising - cars, burners, even alcohol - can be used in moderation and responsibly. There is *no* responsible use of tobacco. Period. Never have I seen such desperate rhetoric used to maintain a collective addiction to the most dangerous substance we use in this country - tobacco - which by it's use not only slowly kills the user, but anyone breathing the air their smoking is fouling. It's as though we are struggling to maintain opium dens - because that's essentially what bars are all about - places where the two most dangerous addictions we happen to have made legal in this country are fed and where they feed on each other. It's a true comment on the human nature and the nature of addiction that this has become so much more than a matter of public health which smokers and their supporters find so unimportant, more public than any one person individual trying to recover from one or more of them that the denial inherent in addiction is driving public policy decisions that should be exercising tough love on the addicted public. In other words - this is one public policy decision designed to do what you all cannot do - impose a restriction on your consumption to help you, but more so others adversely affected by your addiction and its behavior. Obviously, if I had my druthers, I'd clean the public streets of smoking as well. The danger may somewhat dissipated there, but its effects are identical to those into whose lung someone else's smoke is wafting. And, yes, we're long overdue in making the air clean of *all* harmful substances. Any nonsmoker who believes smoking is the only thing to get rid of has their head in the sand about the degree it will clean the air. Andy Driscoll Saint Paul -- on 6/20/04 9:37 AM, Robert Yorga wrote: > Back in the day....probably the summer of 1990 it struck me that all cars > need to be taken off the road because of the threat to our collective > health....except for emergency vehicles. It is beyond a shadow of a doubt > how much destruction cars cause to our culture and environment. A clean car > will still hit and kill people. So the only solution is getting rid of them. > No compromise. Is driving a right? No, not anymore than smoking, but they > aid in the pursuit of the good life, for some, at least. But a higher > consciousness will ameliorate many problems, without a law. > > Not smoking anymore, I find it odd that I defend anyone's right to smoke, > but I would still think it's covered under the constitution in pursuing your > version of the good life. As goofed up as it is. You would think that if you > did not go into bars you would be free of smoke, but it's amazing how just > walking down the Nicollet mall how you can catch a good whiff of smoke every > once in a while. And so I'm wondering how banning smoking in bars and thus > forcing smoking onto the streets is making me safer, wouldn't it be better > for them to be inside where the smoke is contained and filtered? > Am I missing something? Because the way it looks to me now is if this ban > goes through, I won't be able to walk down the mall without catching whiffs > of smoke on every block? And according to some any amount is too much, so > isn't this ban making those inside the bars safer, while those walking down > the mall less safe? Or am I missing something? > I used to believe that line that nicotine is the most addictive > substance.......it's people who are addictive in varying degrees to the > stuff. Because many people grow out of their addictions, they do not need > them as they get older, the cigarette hasn't changed, but the person has. > It's our culture that is addictive and needy and searching. Constantly > trying to find satisfaction outside of itself. If this > campaign against smoking wakes us up to air quality and what we breathe, > then good. But then do not stop with smoking pursue this to it's end, get > rid of everything toxic that we HAVE to breathe. > > > > Robert Yorga > St. Anthony West > > "A Little fish swims up to his older and wiser fish friend and says, ' You > go on and on about water. I have been searching for it everywhere and it is > nowhere to be found. I have studied all the texts, practiced and trained > diligently.....but it has eluded me.' The wise old fish says, "As I always > tell you, not only are you swimming in it right now but you are also > composed of it.' The little fish shakes his head in frustration and swims > away, saying," maybe someday I will find it." > > _________________________________________________________________ > MSN Movies - Trailers, showtimes, DVD's, and the latest news from Hollywood! > http://movies.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200509ave/direct/01/ > > REMINDERS: > 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at > [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. > 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. > > For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html > For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract > ________________________________ > > Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy > Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls > REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
