Do you remember the 1993 Michael Douglas movie "Falling Down"? You know, the one where he plays a laid off defense contractor who's fed-up with the state of our country and his life, which leads him to ultimately lose it and go postal on a convenience store after the non-English speaking clerk won't give him change for the pay phone? Well, dear readers, according to my nephew(who is only 3 years my junior), I am that guy.
See, my nephew and I try to go out and have a beer every couple of weeks, just to keep up with each other, something we haven't done too well until last summer. Last week, we get on the subject of politics and the new anti-smoking legislation being proposed by the Republocrat nannies in Austin. Anyone who's been around me for more than five minutes knows this is a hot button for me. And it's not about the smoking(I'm a "small-s" smoker), it's about the loss of liberty and my frustration with the politically mindless proponents of the ever encroaching Nanny-State. I get worked up about our daily loss of liberty, and I'm passionate about the subject.
My nephew, an intelligent, successful guy, is one of these politically mindless proponents of the Nanny-State and Big Government. His attitudes towards liberty, voting, and the role of government in our lives encapsulate all that is wrong with today's voters. He doesn't understand, or, he even admitted, care, about the concept of "unintended consequences". Since HE doesn't like smoking, he's all for smoking bans. Even though I pointed out the endless potential unintended consequences of such bans, he flat out said he doesn't care. He'll "deal with it and adjust when and if he crosses that bridge." "When it comes to government, I'm only concerned with the here and now," says he.
Now, I'll admit, my nephew has a healthy attitude about change. When he has to wait five months for gall bladder surgery at the Clinton Memorial State Hospital, at least he'll have adjusted and accepted the excruciating healthcare delays. Assuming he survives the wait AND survives the surgery, he'll be much more mentally prepared to wait in the ten block long line to receive his monthly soylent green rations from the U.S. Department of Plenty. And admittedly, he'll fare much better than I when the Jefferson Memorial in D.C. is demolished and replaced with the Marx Memorial.
Me, I'll take the horn-rimmed glasses, the crew-cut, and the license plate that reads "D-FENS", thank you.
