In a message dated 6/3/2004 11:35:13 AM Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: - quote from Noonan > Why did the left change its stance on what it calls personal freedom regarding > cigarettes and cigars? What was the logic? And please, if you are on the left, > would you answer this question for me?
Being on the left, I'll gladly answer Paul/Peggy's question. The logic is simple the Left believes that your freedom to swing your fist stops when it reaches the tip of my nose. The Right believes that since they have a personal relationship with their God who speaks to them on a daily basis they are required to restrict others from offending their God and being cast to Hell. Their fear is that if they don't stop these offenders from upsetting their deity, their lack of action might damn them to Hell as well. (and of course the law of God is higher than the law of man etc...) So, when you light up a cigar or cigarette in a closed space it has no option but to eventually find its way to my nose. If you do it in a public accommodation, some place licensed by or regulated by the government, then the Left sees your exercising your right to smoke as punching me in the nose. Pretty simple position of the Left. No mention of smoking in the Bible - Right has no particular position, GOP'ers lean pro-business. A person may be able to drink alcohol and not create any problem for anyone else (not punch me in the nose) so the Left has not been pro-banning. There have been Christian temperance movements in the past who felt that God had put a curse on this country for its abuse of alcohol and that the only salvation from ruin was to outlaw it entirely. That would be the Right, not the Left. The same of course follows for banning abortions (God doesn't like it - Right) (Women have a right to determine if the want to continue with a pregnancy - Left); Gay marriages (God doesn't like it - Right) (Its no skin off of my nose - Left); I could go on and on but I won't. The only thing that Noonan's article shows is that she doesn't have a clue where her fist ends and my nose begins. JMONTOMEPPOF Chuck Repke _____________________________________________ NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/
