Quote:
Originally Posted by Chaboo_Cleric
[You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]
It's a given right to do whatever we want to ourselves. Raising ages on things is a controversy amongst people who don't give a damn because of their own personal views. Freedom is freedom. You are and adult at 18 not 21. This 21 for alcohol and tobacco is stupid. We can thank lobbyists like M.A.D.D for the 21 age for drinking. They had road funding etc sneaked into the bill to prevent states from lowering the age ala through the fed stupid stupid stupid.
|
It's not as simple as an Ayn Rand novel. You're not dealing with super logical rational beings, you're dealing with human beings. The fact that young children see adults with cigarettes manipulates their perception of what's "normal" (and subconsciously what's acceptable and good).
We may be intelligent self-aware creatures but $9.99 instead of $10 exists because our brains are incredibly fallible. People who study sociology go into advertising. Stores are set up in a certain way to increase purchases. If it really were as simple as free individuals freely doing business then all of that stuff wouldn't work. Cigarette companies weaseled their way into society and now cigarettes are a permanent fixture. They self-advertise.
Ignore politics, morals and economics. Just look at human psychology. The fact that cigarettes and alcohol are in our faces every day impedes our freedom. If you don't understand that then you don't understand how human beings function. The laws (ideally of course) offer a sort of balance. Again: it's not an Ayn Rand novel and our decision making process is very much subconscious.
Not saying I necessarily agree with the laws by the way.