I’m not surprised that the federal government is telling us what kind of light bulbs we can use. There is no aspect of our lives too trivial for them to meddle in and no excuse too ludicrous for them to use as justification. It’s disheartening to see how many Americans United Statists think this is a good idea. What’s even more disheartening is that I’m not surprised by that either.

I have a few questions for such folks who might have stumbled across this blog. (I can’t imagine they’d be regular readers.) I’m familiar with your argument that Big Brother must look out for the well being of everyone and we must sacrifice freedoms to him when he, in his wisdom, decides that we must do X or stop doing Y for the “common good” and the “general welfare.” Enlighten me with your answers in the comments.

If BB can take away our right to decide something this minor, this trivial, how can you possibly stand against him on bigger issues? If the federal government is wise enough to make decisions this small for us then they must be wise enough to decide much larger issues. Since they’ve decided that the general welfare is best served by limiting marriage to men and women only, who are we to question them? Their TSA “porn or molestation” choice is obviously borne of their deep concern for our safety and their genius at providing it, so when our six year old is being fondled shouldn’t we just smile and say “thank you, Big Brother?” Police busting down doors of homes and shooting the pets and people inside because someone might be growing a forbidden plant should be celebrated, not vilified, because they are doing it for the common good.

The counter argument that we must pick and choose among BBs policies and decide which to support and which to fight and/or ignore is a cop out. Besides, we can’t. It doesn’t matter if you’re growing a forbidden plant or selling a forbidden light bulb. The same men with the same guns will put you in the same cages. You don’t get to pick and choose. Nation of laws, and all that.

Here’s my bottom line.  I am not smart enough to tell you how to light your house, which intoxicants you should choose or reject, or what you should do with your genitals. Those decisions should be yours and yours alone. You are not smart enough to make those decisions for me either. Even if one of us were smart enough it would be morally wrong for one of us to make those decisions for the other – and extraordinarily wrong when we enforced those decisions at the point of a gun.

Washington DC is not smarter than either of us. Or any of us. They have shown us and time again that they are idiots. Not just kinda dumb, “aw grandpa, what did you do this time” dumb, but blatant, mouth-breathing, drooling idiots. With guns. And cages. If you don’t want them pointing those guns at you, and/or tossing you in cages (either literally or figuratively) then you need to fight against all of their unnecessary intrusions into our lives, not just those you happen to disagree with. Then, and only then, can you discard the moniker of United Statist and call yourself an American.