Enough Rope

I’m not sure how I feel about the effects of secondhand smoke. I once worked in a bar where I would come home smelling like an ash tray. I have shared the cab of a garbage truck with a gentleman who smoked almost non–stop. To leave out the middle man I considered taking up the habit in college because I thought it would be cool and make me warm as I walked to school during winter days and nights. It turns out smoking would have only made me colder as I tried to look cooler.

I don’t smoke, but I support the rights of others to smoke, unless, of course, it’s in my home or office or next to me in a restaurant or airplane. Smoking outdoors is fine by me (but maybe not right by me), after all – I like a nice camp fire. I try to be uniform in my beliefs whenever it suits me.

It seems, however, that I am not always consistent. I took one of those on–line quizzes where my value system was placed on a grid according to how I answered the questions. The questions asked me to examine how I felt about economic freedom, governmental influence, assisted suicide, mandatory seat belt laws and other topics Americans like to argue about.

I felt my answers were logically in tune with one exception. I do not support assisted suicide (go ahead and tell me why you think I am wrong, but please get in line), and I don’t support mandatory seat belt laws (again – please be respectful of the others ahead of you).

I apologize if you are way ahead of me – but allow me to walk through this. I don’t think we should be helping people kill themselves, but apparently I think we should allow them to increase the risk of death if they want to live dangerously. We don’t force motorcyclists to wear helmets or seat belts (nor should we), yet if you surround yourself with glass, metal and airbags over four wheels the rules change, and your freedom to drive is restricted at the lap and shoulder.

There are plenty of incompatibilities in our society. You are free to burn one type of flag, but you risk being arrested for flying another one. The exercise of religious freedom is encouraged and protected, but only for certain religions. Murder is wrong, but sometimes it is more or less wrong than others, depending upon the political interest served. Yet, when an unborn baby is involved we choose to call it something else.

So, the question remains, do I think people should smoke? No I don’t, but if they want to shorten their lives and break the hearts of the ones they leave behind I won’t stop them. Still, I believe we have certain responsibilities to our friends and family. A sudden suicide, death by car accident, or a disease that takes the life of one who has smoked for years not only takes a life, it forever hurts those left behind.  I have experienced those effects firsthand, and I’m not just blowing smoke.