By the people, for the people?

It would be too easy to jump on the new administration and some of the things that they are doing these days with regard to “running” the country and “serving” our best interests. No, I think I will take this opportunity to vent about one particular pet peeve of mine that gets to the core of my angst with how government has been growing recently. Don’t you just hate terms like Big Government? Good thing we have people staging modern day “tea parties” to show their dissatisfaction; but I digress.

I would like to know what the turning point was when the government decided that it knew better than we did on how best we should protect ourselves. No, I am not talking about the military and protecting us from foreign enemies or our ability to arm ourselves for self defense. I am speaking about the sneaky way the government interferes in our daily lives to “protect” us from ourselves….simply because we don’t know better. Relax conspiracy theorists, I am talking about the seatbelt law or as it is commonly referred to with their catchy slogan…Click it Or Ticket!

I welcome the backlash for the commentary and argument that will follow as it is something that I have been arguing for several years now. If you are a little open minded…and I hope you are by following this site…you may have your opinions altered if not questioned in the end.
Back in the day, there was a nationwide speed limit of 55 mph. Studies showed the increase in safety and reduced fatalities by staying under this magical number. Yes, victory for the American citizen for arguing this and allowing…get this…the states to decide their own speed limits by the type of road etc. How about that….Federal Government makes a ruling and then defers to the States to set standards. Wow…the good ole days! Don’t get me wrong, I was ok with this attempt at “helping” us out since people are reckless and inherently bad drivers in this country. This law was actually an attempt to protect us from others that share the road with us.
Somewhere over the last decade or so, the government has come back to us with the “Click it or Ticket”campaign and subsequent policing in order to protect us and make us safer. I am not buying into this whatsoever. Don’t get me wrong, I wear my seat belt every time I get in the car. Yes, it is the first thing I do once I turn that bad boy on. But should it be an offense punishable by up to $250 for not doing so?

Look at that again. Should the government really be allowed to fine us $150-$250 for not wearing our seat belts? Who stands to get hurt in the event of an accident? Of course, we as individuals do or the passengers riding with us are in jeopardy. But is our safety really something that the government should mandate? Does an individual who elects not to protect themselves in their own car jeopardizing the safety of anyone else on the road or just themselves? Shouldn’t the individual be able to make the decision on their own as to how they “protect” themselves in their own car? Again...it is not like the seatbelt is going to make them a better driver or will it prevent them from getting into an accident. The seatbelts function is to protect the user from injury…Period.

If the government is really concerned about our safety and the safety of others….why isn’t there a National movement or law to ban cell phone use while driving? Why isn’t it a fineable offense to apply makeup or read or eat food while driving? Clearly all of these “activities” take the drivers focus off the task at hand…driving their car…and thus putting the safety of everyone else on the road in jeopardy. While I applaud states like New York and California for their laws banning cell phone use without a hands free device, I would like to know why this is not pushed on the Federal level.

Clearly there is a disconnect in the eyes of the governing body as to why certain laws are federally mandated while others are left to the states to decide. It is ok for the States to decide whether they mandate motorcycle riders to wear a helmet but the federal government mandates seat belt usage across the board? Isn’t that ironic? I can ride my motorcycle in most states with no protection on my head and certainly no seat belt and I am in compliance with the law. Too bad for that poor schmuck in the Hummer that got nabbed for forgetting to buckle up.
Isn’t the mantra, a Government of the people, by the people and for the people? Let’s hope the administration starts making the “change” they have talked about and start to do what was intended. Set the parameters and policy, allow the states to make their law and let citizens protect themselves.