Smoke & Mirrors
I’m a vegetarian. Not because I believe it’s beneficial to my health (in truth I don’t), but because I believe that, for me, it is an ethical imperative. I cannot in good conscience countenance the wholesale slaughter of other sentient beings for my own gratification. I don’t often say so to my carnivorous friends, but the fact of the matter is that I believe eating meat is immoral – for you as well as for me.
You might suppose that I would wholeheartedly espouse a law outlawing the consumption of meat in the restaurants of Austin, or prohibiting meat indoors in any of Austin’s 46,000 business establishments. But, of course, I never will, not even when we vegetarians outnumber you carnivores 4 to 1 some day.
In part, this lies in my ethical humility, keenly aware that Adolf Hitler was also a vegetarian. More importantly, it is because I am convinced that securing freedom and human liberty for us all is far more important than the forcible imposition of any one man’s values, or any number of people’s values, even my own, upon the rest of us, no matter how strongly held their convictions. I understand that this isn’t always a popular view.
Consider the phenomenon of those who smoke tobacco in our increasingly smug and puritanical nanny state society. Here in Texas, approximately 23% of adults smoke tobacco. That’s just a bit more than 1 in every 5. In other words, smokers are outnumbered 4 to 1.
Given the nature of human beings, this disparity encourages the new puritans and the socially intolerant among us to perpetrate ever-escalating taxes and restrictions and penalties upon the ‘immoral’ smokers. The majority, not caring too much about the question, goes along.
In consequence, here in Austin we have 46,000 private businesses, of which 211 permit smoking. So, more than 99% of all businesses are ‘smoke free,’ and the 23% of the populace that smokes can do so in .004% of public places. As for restaurants, more than 2,000 are ‘smoke free,’ while 6 permit smoking. So the 23% of the populace that smokes can do so in .003% of all restaurants. Isn’t that generous of the majority?
But the problem for ‘smoke free’ vigilantes is that while there are over 400 ‘smoke free’ bars, there are nearly half as many (200) where smoking is permitted. Unsatisfied with a ratio in their favor of 2 to 1, the prohibitionists want 100%, mandated by law. And critically, for the future of Austin, there are those live music venues about which so many of us care. Yes, 63 allow smoking. More than 150 do not, yielding a ratio approaching 3 to 1 in favor of non-smoking.
But the new prohibitionists don’t care about the facts. They think that the preferences of 1 in 5 Texans just aren’t germane. ‘Screw them, I don’t like smoke.’ So they’re going to pass a law.
On the May 7th ballot here in Austin, there is a proposed tyranny of the majority ban on smoking in all public venues. Find out more about it at Keep Austin Free, or see the Austin Review editors’ commentary here.
Even if you don’t smoke, and don’t like those who, I hope you will consider casting your vote for freedom.
Oh, just one last disclosure. I smoke. And if the puritanical majority is somehow able to change my mind about these questions . . . I’ll be coming for your burger some day soon.
You might suppose that I would wholeheartedly espouse a law outlawing the consumption of meat in the restaurants of Austin, or prohibiting meat indoors in any of Austin’s 46,000 business establishments. But, of course, I never will, not even when we vegetarians outnumber you carnivores 4 to 1 some day.
In part, this lies in my ethical humility, keenly aware that Adolf Hitler was also a vegetarian. More importantly, it is because I am convinced that securing freedom and human liberty for us all is far more important than the forcible imposition of any one man’s values, or any number of people’s values, even my own, upon the rest of us, no matter how strongly held their convictions. I understand that this isn’t always a popular view.
Consider the phenomenon of those who smoke tobacco in our increasingly smug and puritanical nanny state society. Here in Texas, approximately 23% of adults smoke tobacco. That’s just a bit more than 1 in every 5. In other words, smokers are outnumbered 4 to 1.
Given the nature of human beings, this disparity encourages the new puritans and the socially intolerant among us to perpetrate ever-escalating taxes and restrictions and penalties upon the ‘immoral’ smokers. The majority, not caring too much about the question, goes along.
In consequence, here in Austin we have 46,000 private businesses, of which 211 permit smoking. So, more than 99% of all businesses are ‘smoke free,’ and the 23% of the populace that smokes can do so in .004% of public places. As for restaurants, more than 2,000 are ‘smoke free,’ while 6 permit smoking. So the 23% of the populace that smokes can do so in .003% of all restaurants. Isn’t that generous of the majority?
But the problem for ‘smoke free’ vigilantes is that while there are over 400 ‘smoke free’ bars, there are nearly half as many (200) where smoking is permitted. Unsatisfied with a ratio in their favor of 2 to 1, the prohibitionists want 100%, mandated by law. And critically, for the future of Austin, there are those live music venues about which so many of us care. Yes, 63 allow smoking. More than 150 do not, yielding a ratio approaching 3 to 1 in favor of non-smoking.
But the new prohibitionists don’t care about the facts. They think that the preferences of 1 in 5 Texans just aren’t germane. ‘Screw them, I don’t like smoke.’ So they’re going to pass a law.
On the May 7th ballot here in Austin, there is a proposed tyranny of the majority ban on smoking in all public venues. Find out more about it at Keep Austin Free, or see the Austin Review editors’ commentary here.
Even if you don’t smoke, and don’t like those who, I hope you will consider casting your vote for freedom.
Oh, just one last disclosure. I smoke. And if the puritanical majority is somehow able to change my mind about these questions . . . I’ll be coming for your burger some day soon.
posted by Ken at 1:14 AM
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