February 20, 1992, Page 2 |
Previous | 110 of 168 | Next |
|
|
This page
All
|
Loading content ...
Opt tTltOfl Tlie Daily Cdlegian i Fetwuary 20,1992 Helmet law sucks MichaelS. Handorf The government is intruding much too far into our lives. The latest assault on our personal living choices occurred on Jan. 1. It was the homfying deci¬ sion by our California legis¬ lature to enforce a helmet law upon the good mem¬ bers of our state. Fifty days after the introduction of this perverse law, the time has come for the America n .people to determine for themselves how they wish to live. Every "freedom" that we experience in this country is in jeopardy. The right of a woman to make decisions about her body and the reproductive process is next. But it pains me to make the following observation: Individuals should have the right to ' make their own-decisions about activities which will result in outcomes that pri¬ marily are restricted to themselves. Don't confuse those first two paragraphs. These are s till the writings of a classic liberal. I am not ad¬ vocating that people do whatever they want with- > outregard for the conse¬ quences of their actions; I am implying the exact opposite. People need to have the freedom to do that which they choose, but they must also accept responsi¬ bility for those actions. And it Is here that our government has exploited the arguments of those who advocate individual free¬ doms. The government has created a system in which it forces itself into our lives, under the guise of "promot¬ ing the general welfare." Nothing could be further from the truth. Our benevolent state government deckled that it would provide medical care for motorcycle acci¬ dent victims that exercise their right not to wear a helmet. Then, at a time when support for Roe vs. Wade appears to weaken¬ ing, California legisla tors, led by a pseudo-conserva¬ tive, pseudo-Republican Pete Wilson, enacted an edict that will force motor¬ cyclists to wear helmets. „ Hirtmm. Pro-choke is bad. People shouldn't be permitted to ride their Harieys without helmets. It costs the taxpayers money. We can save more lives by reducing the individual's right to ntak^hoices about his or her life. \ Hirtmm. Pro-choice is bad. People shouldn't be permitted to go to govern- ment sponsored clinics and consider abortion as an option to dealing with a life-altering situation. It costs the taxpayers money. We can save more lives by reducing the individual's right to make decisions about his or her life. This is total refuse. The government has erected a skeletal system of mone¬ tary support in numerous areas of our lives, and therefore argues that it has the right to "govern" decisions related to those areas. We need to tell our politicians to suck out , People can make decisions for themselves. If the government wants a real solution to 95 percent of its "dilemmas," it only needs to grant people the free- | dom to make their own [ decisions and then accept the consequences of those decisions. Motorcyclists should .have the freedom to not wear a helmet. Mo to trey - clists should also subse¬ quently have the freedom to not be required to carry personal medical insur¬ ance . And when the motor¬ cyclist exercises his free- dom not to do either of the ! above, and then engages in his right to lose control of the motorcycle that he had the freedom to purchase and drive, which results in his skull and other cranial matter being generously spread over 80 yards of asphalt, that same motorcy¬ clist should be granted the freedom and right to dete¬ riorate by the side of the road as a graphic reminder to the rest of us of theperils of exercising our freedoms. We do have the inalien¬ able rights to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happi¬ ness." But if we allow the government to intervene in even the slightest manner, we lose everything. And liberty is defined as the freedom oi the individual from external restraint imposed by other individu¬ als, groups, or government. Is it so harsh that we allow the individual to make his or her own choices? What is the govern¬ ment reallv afraid of? We need a government that is more like Lite beer Every¬ thing you always wanted in a governing body, and less. We need to" reduce the influence that our govern¬ ment has over our personal lives, and to do so, we must reduce the areas that we allow our government to control by redistributing our taxes. Anyplace that the government spends one' dollar, even if its cont ribu - tion is infinitesimally minute, it is going to want to engage in legislation. We've got to let those motorcyclists who choose not to wear helmets experi¬ ence the wind in their hair. i\nd if that choice results in their heads landing in a storm sewer or under the right front tire of a Jeep f Cherokee, then hey, le f s not be so damned judgemental. Ifs a choice that the individ¬ ual has to make on his own. If the/ve buttered their bread, then let them sleep in ft- ^ {Opinion n. to think, to select, desire; l.abelief not based on absolute certainty or positive knowl¬ edge but on what seems true, valid, or probable to one's own mind; judgement 2. an evaluation, impression or estimation of the quality or worth of a person or [thing. Mad aa Hack Dear editor Yc*u makeme sic (please' note this is not a grarnmatical or punctuation error). But I would like to thank you for printing my first letter, as I hope you wiH this dne. By printing my letter in the format you chose you have proven to "Collegian" - readers everywhere that at least one of my points was valid. Instead of addressing the issues brought up by readers, you choose to attack the readers. In your (got that one right) attempt to humili¬ ate me you have only suc¬ ceeded in "humiliating yourself. In my defense I will say thaM used your (right again) method of proofreading important material. Example: "... from communist and dic¬ tatorship-ran countries..." February 7,1992 Doug McLeod page seven *^aily Collegian". A dictator ran away from his country or a dictatorship mi gh t run the country, but I think you get a (sic) there. You have decided to spend more time trying to make your critics look bad than you have making yourself look good. Sincerely, Lucas A. Heck ?S. Please get my name right this time. Ifs Lucas A. Heck, not Lucas A, (sic) Heck. Thankyou. Editor's niie: What ever you say, man. Apathy is scary DearEditor, First of all, I would like to take this time to ccwrurtent on the recently proposed tee increase for students in the CSU system. I feel mat the fee increase is wrong because it will price many students out of an education! The main purpose of this letter is not just to discuss the evils of this proposed increase but also to discuss another important concern of •mine. What ream/ troubles continued on page 6
Object Description
Title | 1992_02 The Daily Collegian February 1992 |
Alternative Title | Daily Collegian (California State University, Fresno) |
Publisher | Associated Students of Fresno State, Fresno, Calif. |
Publication Date | 1992 |
Description | Daily (except weedends) during the school year. Microfilm. Palo Alto, Calif.: BMI Library Microfilms, 1986- microfilm reels; 35 mm. Vol.1, no.1 (Feb 8, 1922)- |
Subject | California State University, Fresno -- Periodicals. |
Contributors | Associated Students of Fresno State. |
Coverage | Vol.1 no.1 (Feb 8, 1922)- to present |
Format | Microfilm reels, 35 mm. |
Technical Information | Scanned at 600 dpi; TIFF; Microfilm ScanPro 2000 "E-image data" |
Language | eng |
Description
Title | February 20, 1992, Page 2 |
Alternative Title | Daily Collegian (California State University, Fresno) |
Publisher | Associated Students of Fresno State, Fresno, Calif. |
Publication Date | 1992 |
Description | Daily (except weedends) during the school year. Microfilm. Palo Alto, Calif.: BMI Library Microfilms, 1986- microfilm reels; 35 mm. Vol.1, no.1 (Feb 8, 1922)- |
Subject | California State University, Fresno -- Periodicals. |
Contributors | Associated Students of Fresno State. |
Coverage | Vol.1 no.1 (Feb 8, 1922)- to present |
Format | Microfilm reels, 35 mm. |
Technical Information | Scanned at 600 dpi; TIFF; Microfilm ScanPro 2000 "E-image data" |
Language | eng |
Full-Text-Search | Opt tTltOfl Tlie Daily Cdlegian i Fetwuary 20,1992 Helmet law sucks MichaelS. Handorf The government is intruding much too far into our lives. The latest assault on our personal living choices occurred on Jan. 1. It was the homfying deci¬ sion by our California legis¬ lature to enforce a helmet law upon the good mem¬ bers of our state. Fifty days after the introduction of this perverse law, the time has come for the America n .people to determine for themselves how they wish to live. Every "freedom" that we experience in this country is in jeopardy. The right of a woman to make decisions about her body and the reproductive process is next. But it pains me to make the following observation: Individuals should have the right to ' make their own-decisions about activities which will result in outcomes that pri¬ marily are restricted to themselves. Don't confuse those first two paragraphs. These are s till the writings of a classic liberal. I am not ad¬ vocating that people do whatever they want with- > outregard for the conse¬ quences of their actions; I am implying the exact opposite. People need to have the freedom to do that which they choose, but they must also accept responsi¬ bility for those actions. And it Is here that our government has exploited the arguments of those who advocate individual free¬ doms. The government has created a system in which it forces itself into our lives, under the guise of "promot¬ ing the general welfare." Nothing could be further from the truth. Our benevolent state government deckled that it would provide medical care for motorcycle acci¬ dent victims that exercise their right not to wear a helmet. Then, at a time when support for Roe vs. Wade appears to weaken¬ ing, California legisla tors, led by a pseudo-conserva¬ tive, pseudo-Republican Pete Wilson, enacted an edict that will force motor¬ cyclists to wear helmets. „ Hirtmm. Pro-choke is bad. People shouldn't be permitted to ride their Harieys without helmets. It costs the taxpayers money. We can save more lives by reducing the individual's right to ntak^hoices about his or her life. \ Hirtmm. Pro-choice is bad. People shouldn't be permitted to go to govern- ment sponsored clinics and consider abortion as an option to dealing with a life-altering situation. It costs the taxpayers money. We can save more lives by reducing the individual's right to make decisions about his or her life. This is total refuse. The government has erected a skeletal system of mone¬ tary support in numerous areas of our lives, and therefore argues that it has the right to "govern" decisions related to those areas. We need to tell our politicians to suck out , People can make decisions for themselves. If the government wants a real solution to 95 percent of its "dilemmas," it only needs to grant people the free- | dom to make their own [ decisions and then accept the consequences of those decisions. Motorcyclists should .have the freedom to not wear a helmet. Mo to trey - clists should also subse¬ quently have the freedom to not be required to carry personal medical insur¬ ance . And when the motor¬ cyclist exercises his free- dom not to do either of the ! above, and then engages in his right to lose control of the motorcycle that he had the freedom to purchase and drive, which results in his skull and other cranial matter being generously spread over 80 yards of asphalt, that same motorcy¬ clist should be granted the freedom and right to dete¬ riorate by the side of the road as a graphic reminder to the rest of us of theperils of exercising our freedoms. We do have the inalien¬ able rights to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happi¬ ness." But if we allow the government to intervene in even the slightest manner, we lose everything. And liberty is defined as the freedom oi the individual from external restraint imposed by other individu¬ als, groups, or government. Is it so harsh that we allow the individual to make his or her own choices? What is the govern¬ ment reallv afraid of? We need a government that is more like Lite beer Every¬ thing you always wanted in a governing body, and less. We need to" reduce the influence that our govern¬ ment has over our personal lives, and to do so, we must reduce the areas that we allow our government to control by redistributing our taxes. Anyplace that the government spends one' dollar, even if its cont ribu - tion is infinitesimally minute, it is going to want to engage in legislation. We've got to let those motorcyclists who choose not to wear helmets experi¬ ence the wind in their hair. i\nd if that choice results in their heads landing in a storm sewer or under the right front tire of a Jeep f Cherokee, then hey, le f s not be so damned judgemental. Ifs a choice that the individ¬ ual has to make on his own. If the/ve buttered their bread, then let them sleep in ft- ^ {Opinion n. to think, to select, desire; l.abelief not based on absolute certainty or positive knowl¬ edge but on what seems true, valid, or probable to one's own mind; judgement 2. an evaluation, impression or estimation of the quality or worth of a person or [thing. Mad aa Hack Dear editor Yc*u makeme sic (please' note this is not a grarnmatical or punctuation error). But I would like to thank you for printing my first letter, as I hope you wiH this dne. By printing my letter in the format you chose you have proven to "Collegian" - readers everywhere that at least one of my points was valid. Instead of addressing the issues brought up by readers, you choose to attack the readers. In your (got that one right) attempt to humili¬ ate me you have only suc¬ ceeded in "humiliating yourself. In my defense I will say thaM used your (right again) method of proofreading important material. Example: "... from communist and dic¬ tatorship-ran countries..." February 7,1992 Doug McLeod page seven *^aily Collegian". A dictator ran away from his country or a dictatorship mi gh t run the country, but I think you get a (sic) there. You have decided to spend more time trying to make your critics look bad than you have making yourself look good. Sincerely, Lucas A. Heck ?S. Please get my name right this time. Ifs Lucas A. Heck, not Lucas A, (sic) Heck. Thankyou. Editor's niie: What ever you say, man. Apathy is scary DearEditor, First of all, I would like to take this time to ccwrurtent on the recently proposed tee increase for students in the CSU system. I feel mat the fee increase is wrong because it will price many students out of an education! The main purpose of this letter is not just to discuss the evils of this proposed increase but also to discuss another important concern of •mine. What ream/ troubles continued on page 6 |