Liberty To Breathe

[cbertsch]

The ban on smoking in restaurants and bars throughout Arizona goes into effect today. And I'm delighted, purely because it will benefit me. I guess you could say this is an example of my new approach to life, which I'm provisionally terming "libertarianism."

Comments

[cbertsch.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm just joking about the libertarian thing. "Liberty for me" but not for you!

Gaw'Bless Amurr-ikka

[grandissimus.livejournal.com]

Sorry if I came across as shrill in my last post. I'm not defending smoking as a worthwhile activity -- I myself have been smoke-free for nearly six months -- but merely taking exception with what I see as the deontic logic behind the legislative ban on smoking in the places you mentioned. The logic goes: you've paid to get into the club, and I, the (hypothetical) smoker have, also; we're both properly attired; and we're both behaving ourselves -- all other other things being equal, I forfeit personal liberty, the ability to smoke in the venue, because of it negatively effects me and those around me. This, and, only this, informs the ethics behind the legislated ban.

Fine. I accept this. Why, though, is this principle of jurisprudence so selectively and narrowly applied? Why aren't the same prohibitions attached to cell phone users (they ruin the atmosphere just about everywhere they go), automobile drivers, meat-eaters (HUGE carbon footprint there), and so on? Because to do so would be to usher in such a micro-managed Nanny State that no self-respecting libertarian -- or for that matter, no self-respecting Foucauldian (didn't F. once advise his students to read F. A. Hayek?) -- would want to live in it; but this is precisely the day-to-day political reality we've constructed for our those among us who take tobacco.

Just tryin' to keep the torch of liberty burnin'. . .

And, oh, yeah, let's bring back the gold standard and the Articles of Confederation while we're at it! :-)

Re: Gaw'Bless Amurr-ikka

[cbertsch.livejournal.com]

The problem I have with libertarianism is that it takes idealism to the point of absurdity. You're absolutely right that the logic of the smoking ban could be extended indefinitely. But I also think that we need to take account of the practical, real-world contexts that inform decision-making at this level of abstraction. Smoking directly impacts the health of non-smokers more than the other activities you mention. Sure, we could take the long view and conclude that meat-eating might be worse in the end. The difference, though, is that it's a lot harder to show the effects of that behavior on an individual at close range.

Re: Gaw'Bless Amurr-ikka

[schencka.livejournal.com]

I declare that guy's comment a De File no-no.

You know it's a hardline comment when Dr. Bertsch is forced to use academic-critical language.

"we need to take account of the practical, real-world contexts that inform decision-making"

Re: Gaw'Bless Amurr-ikka

[grandissimus.livejournal.com]

Oh, Adam. The smoke in Tucson clears, and still you cannot see. I don't know what's so out-of-bounds about civil liberties. I mean, I suffer the persecution of fitness-freak joggers every day. I can't tell you how many times I've almost been run down by one of them on the sidewalk. And their flagrant disregard for auto traffic places them in much greater danger than any cigarette smoke ever will. What recourse do I have against them? How do I legislate them out of my sphere? A street without joggers would be a happy street indeed, because they jeopardize my person and my insurance rates every time one of them hurtles mindlessly down the street in pursuit of an optimal pulse rate.

Once you realize that what we're talking about with this Tucson smoking ban is just good ol' fashioned bully politics -- pushin' around the unpopular guy for our heady little will-to-power rush -- we'll never be able to have a fruitful discussion. You just don't know how thoroughly you've been taught to dance to the authoritarian's tune. Pulmonary health is not an inalienable right -- just ask the EPA. Besides, the *air* in Tucson's gonna kill you faster than the smoke in Club Congress, or in any other scenester hang.

Gyms are gulags. Stop being your body's slave.

Respectfully,
"That Guy"