Seattle nanny-state


Government doesn't trust you to make the correct choices.
This was a welcome change. Phillip Dawdy in Seattle actually took a hard look at nanny-statism. All is not lost, we're not all sheeple yet.

You hear all kinds of hyperbole from the lips of nanny statists these days. In Seattle, it ties in nicely with the city's long tradition of hyperearnest citizens, people the critic H.L. Mencken called "uplifters." Those are the folks who "know" what's good for everyone else and have no tolerance for anything they consider against the rules of clean living. They seek to ban whatever activity they don't like. That's often the way of social conservatives, the people who helped bring about Prohibition in the last century and today want to ban a woman's right to choose or eliminate gay rights. They know what's good for everyone because, often, their religious conviction tells them so.

But of late, liberals and progressives around the country are acting just as religious, except many wrap their arguments in the secular prophecy of public-health officials and all-knowing advocacy groups. Progressives are going after "rights" connected to behavior they consider unhealthful. They want to ban smoking completely. They want to so limit alcohol consumption that the speakeasy, once again, becomes reality. They want to ban gun ownership. They want to control what people eat. In Seattle, nannies like Mayor Greg Nickels want to drive strip clubs out of business. And, if progressives cannot get their way through education and mass-media campaigns, then they will resort to the ballot box, coercion, and in the case of Washington state government, a call for social discrimination.

There is a lot of talk about rights in the air right now. Last week, Samuel Alito, President George W. Bush's nominee to the Supreme Court, was grilled by a Senate committee about just what rights Americans—especially women—enjoy in our society. Do Americans have an absolute right to privacy, for example? That's not a minor question—it is at the core of abortion rights.

But all rights are local, when push comes to shove. It's the local authorities who will enforce the nanny laws. The cops will be busy in Seattle now that the city's historic progressive puritanism is back in full scold mode. Right now, Seattle has a suite of new restrictions that make Rain City look like a no-fun zone to the rest of the world.

The most prominent of these is the smoking ban, the most restrictive in the nation. No indoor smoking in any business and no outdoor smoking within 25 feet of the entrance to any publicly accessible building. The ban affects the entire state, but in densely packed parts of the city, the 25-foot rule creates a dicey situation for smokers: They literally have to stand in the street to smoke legally. But more on that in a moment.

Radley Balko is quoted briefly.

The entire premise of the nanny-state is that you are incapable of making good choices.

Think about that. An elected government telling you that you can't make the correct choice.

Well, I will tell you that the more power a government has, the more power it will wield. So if you start compromising "for your own good" or "for the children," don't be surprised if you have no choices left. Inflict government on someone else, and later someone will inflict government on you,

— NeoWayland

Posted: Thu - January 19, 2006 at 04:55 AM  Tag


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