I was driving in the car with my 12 year old daughter over the weekend and she expressed her concern about the hazard of people who text while they drive. She went on to tell me about an idea she had for a device that would be installed in cars that would not allow drivers to use their smartphone in the car. While this would certainly prevent many texting while driving accidents, my reply to her was, "That would never fly, this is America, where we have the freedom to do what we aren't supposed to." She replied, "Dad, that makes no sense." and the conversation was over.
While I will admit, my off hand comment does sound nonsensical, it has some validity. Could you imagine the outcry if suddenly one of our "freedoms" to be bad was revoked? Imagine if cigarettes were made illegal? If cars were made so they couldn't exceed the speed limit? If all junk foods were taken off the shelves? We know these are all things we shouldn't partake in, but we demand the ability to choose our negligence.
And of course big business would have their say. Tobacco is a huge industry and lobbyists work hard to make sure you have right to kill yourself slowly with their products. And how many Corvettes do you think Chevrolet would sell if you couldn't open it up on the highway? Frito Lay wants you to able to pick between Original and Cool Ranch Doritos. They all rake it in while we push the limits.
So rejoice in the fact that we live in a free country where we can put the petal to the metal on the way to get Marlboros and Twinkies. But use your freedom wisely, and please for the sake of your fellow motorists, save the texting for when you get there.
You should have told her what fun prohibition was and how well that went over.
ReplyDeleteI just had this same chain of thoughts recently. She's one smart kid, but it'll never happen! Or when it does - the rich person will be the one who sells the workaround.
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