I have nothing against Mayor Michael Bloomberg per se, however, when any government official tells me what to do with my body, we begin to have a problem. You know it is bad when SNL finds time to mock it in the midst of the worst storm our country has ever seen.
Now, I realize the government is only "interested" in my health for financial reasons and because of the impact it will have on the cost of health care in the future. That being said, I recognize that diabetes and obesity are serious issues in this country and they need to be addressed. I simply resent them being addressed by political officials as opposed to physicians.
I am not a fan of soda and I don't choose to drink it much less would I drink a gigantic vat of the latest sugary craze. That is not really the point. The point, for me, is that I have a choice. I am an adult and I get to make that choice for myself. I may or may not always make the right decisions but they are my decisions (and my mistakes) to make. Some people argue that it is the children that these laws are trying to protect. To those people I ask, "Where are their parents?" It is the right and responsibility of the parents to raise and guide their children (and it is not one parents should easily relinquish).
According to the latest New York State law, possession of 25 grams or less of marijuana does not result in an arrest, but I suppose if you are caught with a big gulp soda in your hand any number of evils may befall you. I am not for or against marijuana usage. I am just making a point. It is ridiculous -- almost a half a million people are against the soda ban and have signed petitions to that effect. I guess our elected officials are not interested in the opinions of the people who got them there.
All I know is that this morning I woke up in America... a country I love and believe in very much. What I love so much about this country are our civil liberties. Perhaps all the craziness of our times has clouded what that means. It means I am free... free to make my own choices. Just as freedom of the press and freedom of speech gives me the right to express it here. The day we lose sight of that we, as a nation, have far bigger problems than just super-sizing.