And he's right.
Leonard Pitts recalls Dr. Doom's attempt to rule the world in New York City Mayor Bloomberg's decree on drink sizes in New York dining establishments. An excerpt:
Apparently, if you send two people venturing out, one to the extreme left, and the other to the extreme right, of our political spectrum, they will end up face to face. Because the distinguishing characteristic of extreme liberalism or extreme conservatism is the extremism; itself, the fact that some people just don’t know when to quit.
Obviously, the state is sometimes obliged to impose restrictions. One shouldn’t be allowed to sell Camels to kindergarteners. Or do 90 on a residential street. Or discriminate by race, creed, gender, condition, or sexual orientation.
But there is a difference between those restrictions the state imposes to protect the health, welfare and property of those around us from us or defend the vulnerable from exploitation and those the state imposes to regulate behavior that is simply unwise. The latter reflects a lack of faith in the wisdom of people, their ability, when properly informed, to make the right choice.
Read the entire column here.
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