The Nanny State- the Slow and Steady Creep to the Loss of Individual Freedom

Perhaps the most dangerous, yet oft-used two-word phrase in the English language is “meant well.”

Ah…those “good intentions.” They’ll get you every time. As an old priest once told me in parochial school, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions,” and never were truer words spoken, as evidenced in contemporary society.

The creeping nanny state, and its attendant loss of individual freedom, is a phenomenon whose roots go back well into the decades of our collective past. When government- federal, state, local and, for that matter, homeowners’ associations- find too much time on their hands, the desire to protect us from ourselves becomes all-too-tempting, all-too-encroaching and all-too-infuriating to anyone who cherishes individual liberty and personal freedom. For instance:

Just this past week, the State of California passed an ordinance that only milk or water may be served to children in a restaurant or other such dining establishment, all in the name of combating childhood obesity. Heaven help the adult who orders a Coca-Cola and then allows a child to have a sip;

While mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg pushed through local ordinance that limits the serving size of soda pop to 16 ounces, sounding the death knell for the “Big Gulp” and other such larger servings- all, again, in an effort to combat childhood and adult obesity. So, instead of buying a larger serving of soda pop, are we to understand that the public interest is better served by forcing people to instead purchase multiple smaller servings?

In San Francisco, where strolling the streets in the nude and where defecating, urinating, smoking marijuana and shooting up heroin on the sidewalk are all within the purview of protected individual rights, an adult smoking tobacco in his or her home, where children reside, can be cause for arrest and children may be forcibly removed from such a home and placed into foster care by complete strangers;

In many states, it has become illegal to smoke while driving an automobile with kids inside, and can result in arrest and/or traffic citation and referrals to juvenile and domestic relations courts;

In Seattle, Washington, where smoking marijuana and shooting up heroin is perfectly legal in public spaces, and where (like many cities) syringes are distributed any and all comers, restaurants and other dining establishments are prohibited from dispensing plastic straws and utensils as a means to combat littering and so-called threats to the environment- no mention of the used syringes and needles which prevent families from otherwise enjoying city parks with their children;

All over America, homeowners’ associations have become the new and local gestapos, ready to pounce on, fine and even cause mortgage foreclosure and imprisonment for anyone daring to display an American flag, for planting azaleas or for having any non-uniform holiday decoration of any kind. They even impose restrictive start and end dates for having a wreath on the door at Christmastime, or electric candles (only the ones with clear bulbs are allowed, of course).

Such instances in the preponderance of over-bearing restrictions on individual liberties, and where cultural appropriation of traditional American expression is rife with frequency, are sadly too many to enumerate. Worse, they are the inevitable outgrowth of liberalism and state-ism run amok- the message being only those activities of which they (the ones in charge) may grant approval and permission, are allowed.

So, while our governments at all levels, as well as homeowners’ associations throughout the United States, seek to impose regulations and restrictions- all with the so-called “good intentions” of protecting ourselves from, well, ourselves, it cannot be over-stated as to the ill-effects of such imposition on the freedoms we cherish and the attendant incremental loss of individual liberty, but then again…

…they mean well, after all…

Sod that!

-Drew Nickell, 19 August 2018

author of “Bending Your Ear- a Collection of Essays on the Issues of Our Times”

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