A Right To Be Stupid

"Lord, what fools these mortals be!" ~ William Shakespeare

(I have pictures to post on this entry, but blogger won't upload them. Maybe I can edit them in later.)

The recent motorcycle wreck involving Pittsburgh Steelers Quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, has spawned quite a debate about both the importance of wearing helmets and whether or not helmet laws should be in place.

For those of you as yet uninitiated, a helmet law is a law requiring that motorcyclists wear helmets when driving their motorcycles. It is, after all, for their own protection.

Yesterday, Glenn Beck brought up the point that Pennsylvania used to have a helmet law but that it was repealed in 2003 by a mostly Democrat state legislature. He blamed it on the Democrats.

Personally, I agree with the state legislature in this case. Let me explain why.

Most thinking people, people with brains, agree that wearing a helmet is a wise thing to do when riding motorcycles. As do I. Accordingly, wearing seat belts in cars is a wise thing to do. And child safety restraint systems in cars, and even in shopping carts are pretty wise for those who have concerns about the safety of their children.

But does the government have the right to force us to implement these safety measures?

Don't the people in America have a right to be stupid if they so desire? Isn't that part of the freedoms we are supposed to enjoy here in the land of the free? The right to be stupid?

I often say that Liberalism, to me, stems from the idea that since the majority of people are not smart enough to take care of themselves, the government must take care for them. I think this is one of the basic tenets of Liberalism. In Laura Ingrahams book, "Shut Up and Sing" , the very first line states, "they (meaning Liberals)think we're stupid". (Actually, it could read "they think you're stupid", I don't remember which.) Either way, the point is clear.

The unfortunate fact is, many people in America are stupid. But don't they/we have that right? The right to be stupid?

OK, so that's my point. Helmet laws force people who don't want to wear a helmet to wear them. If a helmet were to prevent serious injury or death, of course, that is a good thing, but if a rider isn't wearing one, and it causes him to die because of his own stupidity, he has that right, in my opinion.

There is a series of books based on a Liberal author's idea that people who remove themselves from the gene pool by dying because they did things requiring a singular stupidity should receive special recognition. It is called "The Darwin Awards" . I ran across a copy of the 3rd book in the series on the clearance shelf at Waldenbooks, and bought it simply because it was only $1.99 at the time. It is humorous, but nothing to rave about, in my opinion.

People who refuse to wear helmets, or for that matter, seat belts, and die in accidents because of it, should receive at least honorable mention for the Darwin Awards, but don't because the sad fact is, Those kinds of deaths are far too common.

Now, let me add here, that I see insurance the same way. We all agree that it's a damned good idea to carry insurance. Health insurance, life insurance, home insurance, and especially car insurance. But should we be forced to carry it by law?

I don't think so.

I know that's a radical thought but stay with me on this one.

I cannot get my car registered without having insurance. I cannot get license tags. I essentially drive my car illegally if I don't carry car insurance. It is law in this state and most other states to carry car insurance. Failure to carry car insurance in this state results in the loss of driving privileges and several stiff fines and fees. If I let my car insurance coverage lapse even one day, it is an immediate $150.00 fine, and something like $3.00 a day thereafter until the insurance is re-instated.

I believe it is a violation of my rights to force me to buy car insurance.

For one thing, When the law requires one to buy his own insurance, it is basically the textbook definition of extortion. If the law is going to require us to have insurance, the government should be the one that supplies it, and at affordable rates. The way it is now, except for government ceilings on insurance fees, insurance companies can conceivably charge whatever ridiculous fees they want.

It is free money for the insurance companies. With the Governments blessing. Not a bad racket if you can get in on it.

Yes, it is very wise to carry insurance. Yes, it can save you an immense amount of expenses should you have an accident. Yes, if you have an accident you will be out a tremendous amount of money, not to mention your mode of transportation, if you don't carry insurance. All these things are true.

But does the government have the right to compel you, against your will, to buy insurance? I think not.

If someone has an accident and isn't carrying insurance, shouldn't just reaping the consequences of stupidity be enough of a reason for him to buy insurance for himself? Having a serious accident without insurance would certainly be costly enough for him to make sure he doesn't get behind the wheel of a vehicle again. For one thing, he wouldn't be able to afford to fix the one he has, let alone be able to buy another one. Especially if his reason for not having insurance in the first place is because he can't afford it.

But what about the other driver, you might ask? The responsible one. The one who was smart enough to carry insurance on his vehicle. Well, that is a good reason to require insurance, I suppose.

But there is a way he can avoid costly repair fees, health care, and various other expenses from an accident.

All insurance policies should be no-fault. Meaning, whether the insured is the one at fault for the accident or someone else, the insurance the responsible driver has bought should make the reparations. But only for him. The uninsured driver must find a way to pay his own bill caused because he exercised his right to be stupid.

Lastly, getting back to the helmet law question, Let's at least require some consistency here. If the law requires seat belts and child safety restraints in cars, and insurance, then it should require motorcyclists to wear helmets.

If the law doesn't require helmets, than it shouldn't require safety belts and child safety harnesses and insurance either.

I am in favor of the latter, not because I want to drive without insurance or seat belts or helmets. But because I believe that we Americans have the right to choose to be safe or not.

We have an inherent, God-given right to be stupid.