One would have thought that last week's trouncing of Democrats in federal and gubernatorial elections would have made clear that the country has repudiated the paternalistic approach which the Obama-Pelosi-Frank cabal have been trying to impose. However, judging from a pending action in San Francisco where its governing body is seeking to outlaw fast food children's' meals containing a toy unless the meals met certain nutritional standards, it appears that the message was not loud enough.
If there is any area where government should butt out, it's what people feed their children or themselves. We're not talking about food purity here, but only about the judgment of officials as to what people should be eating. It is the ultimate absurdity to hear that:
Under the proposal, the food and beverage would have to contain fewer than 600 calories, and less than 35 percent of total calories would come from fat.
The meal would also have to contain 0.5 cups of fruit and 0.75 cups of vegetables and offer less than 640 mg of sodium and less than 0.5 mg of trans fat. Breakfast would have the option of offering 0.5 cups of fruit or vegetables.
The premise of such an ordinance is that people can not think for themselves at all or limit indugences to special occasions. I call this insulting nonsense which should prompt freedom loving Americans everywhere to tell these officials to MYOB. Whether these meals are good for children or anyone else is not the issue; letting people think and act for themselves is. America did not reach the heights which mad it the envy of the world in so ways in this manner.
If this sort of initiative were isolated to San Francisco, we could all have a good laugh. However, it is reflective of a disquieting Big Brotherism around the country that is robbing us of the motivation needed to pull our economic ox out of the ditch with new entrepreneurial ventures and innovation. Whether it's telling people what they can't eat or that they can't practice a non-hazardous trade such as interior design or booksales without a license, the message is clear: 'Don't act on your own! Wait for us to tell you what you can or must do!' The Institute for Justice shares my concern that this is suppressing economic activity and impeding recovery. To the extent this is true, it has become anything but a laughing matter, but is a mortal threat to our well being.
I'm not a Tea Partier, but it's clear to me that the Tea Party draws a great deal of support from people who are scared of the intrusion of government into every aspect of American life and are insisting that it stop before it irreparably damages our economy and social fabric.
It's time for Americans to resume acting like Americans and expressly insist that their politicians at all levels do the same and respect individual rights and prerogatives. Let's make clear that noted analyst and pollster Scott Rasmussen was correct and speaking not only of Washington, but also of all governments, when he recently stated that "[V]oters don't want to be governed from the left, the right, or even the center. They want someone in Washington who understands that the American people want to govern themselves."