Government Should Enrich Freedom
As an elected official here in Pascagoula, one of my responsibilities is to enact ordinances, laws if you will, that enhance and enrich our way of life, while penalizing those who choose to act outside of the perimeters set forth. This is a heavy task and one that should not be taken lightly. Much thought and deliberation must be given to ensure that what is legislated is proper and fair for the whole. But more importantly, laws should only be passed that enrich our freedom as citizens of this great city, state, and nation.
Laws that enrich our freedom apply to us all, regardless of race, gender, socio-economic status, heredity, place of work, place of worship, etc. There is no room for discrimination or polarization, only equality and progress. Laws that prohibit murder and rape enrich every one of us, giving each the right to live without fear of death or bodily harm. No argument can be made supporting these activities. History has proven that banning murder and rape is fundamental to the safety and security of our society. Such bans only serve to enhance life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for every single person, thus the laws prohibiting these activities enrich the freedom of the whole. The essence of a good law should be then that it serves the interest of the whole, not a portion or segment of society.
If you flip the coin, laws that infringe on our freedoms have just the opposite effect by appealing to certain segments of our society, in essence pandering to the person or group that shouts the loudest and longest. It has become an all too common occurrence that such laws infringing on our freedom are being legislated both locally and nationally. Needless legislation is running rampant. The founders of our country never intended to allow its government to legislate morality or mandate how an individual lives his or her life. The point of government should be to create an environment that everyone can prosper and achieve in, while holding fast to their individual eccentricities that indeed make them autonomous and unique.
Many of you will, I am sure, disagree with me or think me profoundly neurotic, but for the sake of an example I will offer my opinion up for critique. One such needless law which infringes on my personal freedom is the seat belt law. I know most of you are thinking "seat belts save lives," and while that is true and a recorded, proven fact, why do I, an adult who is responsible for my actions, need to be told to wear my seat belt? Do I not have the right to operate a motor vehicle that has passed its inspection, is street-legal, and meets all of the necessary safety and operating requirements and not wear a seat belt? Will wearing a seat belt save anyone besides me? Is my life not my own or does the government own me? Why does the government feel the need to protect me from me? Yes, I see the need to buckle up infants and children; they are not yet at a place where they are responsible for themselves. But I, as an adult of legal age and understanding, am. That is just one of the laws that really get me going in terms of personal freedom.
Nowhere is this infringement of freedom more evident than in the business community. It has long been my belief that governments who value freedom and free enterprise do not tell businesses how to operate. Yes, government should have a hand in outlining proper business practices to ensure no illicit activity is being perpetrated on the general public. But only when a business acts in a manner contrary to the laws of the land should the government intervene. And unfortunately, the inherent flaw of that statement rest on the fact that there are simply too many laws; business is over regulated and vastly over burdened by those in our country who support the big government mentality. The imposition that is placed on the business owner both locally and nationally is ridiculous. When it becomes more profitable and easier to hire workers and purchase goods from outside our own borders, the extent of over regulation is evident. And make no mistake about it, every imposition placed on business is felt, both in our wallets and in the steady decline in our freedom.
Allow me to provide an example of over regulation and infringement on capitalism. I know this will spark another debate as did the previous example, but please indulge me and continue to read as I elaborate. It has become trendy for cities and towns all across our country to ban smoking in commercial buildings, in an effort to create a clean and safe environment. Now, before I continue, please note that I am a non-smoker so my views of which I am about to express cannot be simply extinguished as defending my habit. With that said, I for one cannot and will not support a smoking ban on private, commercial businesses. That may shock some of you reading this, but please allow me to explain my reasoning.
America is built on capitalism, free enterprise. My handy-dandy Encarta defines capitalism as an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and distribution of goods, characterized by a free competitive market and motivation by profit. Capitalism has been the backbone of our society and has allowed our country to grow and expand more than any nation in the history of the world. Allowing a person to decide what type of business and how they run that business has been what has made this country great. A business owner's right to choose who their business will cater to and what services and goods they supply to the public is capitalism at its best.
So for me, as an elected official to hamper in any manner a private business person's right to run their business as they see fit is a detriment to capitalism and our economic system. That is what a smoking ban on private, commercial businesses does; it takes the business owner's right to choose who their business will cater to and disregards capitalism. A smoking ban is over regulation and infringement at its core.
Some will say, "Smoking kills. It causes cancer. Even second hand smoke has been proven harmful to your health. I should be able to dine or shop in a smoke-free environment at that business." I hear your concerns. I have had similar thoughts before as well. Yes, smoking is not healthy and second hand smoke can be and often is harmful. But please don't miss the greatness of our country here. You and I have the choice to be a patron of any business. And those businesses will succeed or fail based on if you and I support them. That is our freedom, our privilege in a society based on free enterprise. Your patronage of a business will determine that business's health. And if enough of us do not buy from a business it will inevitably die. That is capitalism.
Likewise, if a business owner chooses to cater to smokers and provides such an atmosphere, it is that business owner's choice and he or she will succeed or fail based on that choice. It is not up to me as an elected official to mandate to a private business owner what he or she can and cannot do with their private business in terms of offering smoking within their establishment. Capitalism allows for success if the market will sustain it and failure if cannot. Why over regulate businesses if the market will ultimately decide their fate? That's the greatness of free enterprise.
If a law does not enrich our freedom, then I for one cannot and will not support its passage. Infringement on our freedom is the mentality of big government and it has begun to disguise itself as being healthy or safe or practical. True freedom should leave the door wide open to us as citizens of our city, state, and nation. True freedom should encourage capitalism and support free enterprise and not burden down business owners. True freedom does not listen to the segments of society, but does the business of the whole for the betterment of the whole. True freedom creates an environment that allows you and me to succeed and fail out of our own making. That is what makes Pascagoula great and that is what makes our state and country great as well.
Frank Corder
Pascagoula City Councilman Ward 4
