THE RESPONSIBILITY OF FREEDOM

We Americans have developed a bad habit of looking to the government to solve any and all problems that we might face in life. The freedoms that our founding fathers fought and died for are the most precious assets that we have. With freedom we have the ability to excel, but we also have the ability to fail. When you get down to the nitty gritty it is our responsibility as free people to sink or swim in life.

Recently there was a bill before the state legislature that died in committee, even though on the first glance it’s intentions looked good. House Bill 1033 would have made it illegal for anyone younger than 21 to purchase tobacco in Oklahoma. Currently, tobacco may be purchased by those 18 and older. House Bill 1033 was authored by State Rep. Doug Cox from Grove. Representative Cox is a medical doctor with 26 years of medical practice experience. Dr. Cox noted that smoking-related illness kills 430,000 people in the United States, more than twice the combined total for AIDS, alcohol, motor vehicle accidents, homicide, drug abuse and suicide, according to official statistics. Cox also said. "Tobacco use is a leading cause of stroke, emphysema, lung cancer, and other serious illnesses."

I do not doubt the facts and figures that Dr. Cox has presented, and I also agree that smoking is not the most healthful habit that a person can take up. I did notice the other causes of death are for the most part caused by behavior problems of our citizens. There are many good intentioned laws that we have on the books, but it is impossible to pass enough laws to protect us from everything. We need to remember that the more laws we pass, the less freedom we will have.

Changing the age requirement from 18 to 21 doesn’t sound like a big deal. Maybe we should consider not allowing young men and women to enlist in the military until they are at lest 21 years old. I feel that if a person is old enough to decide whether to go to war or not they are old enough to decide to buy tobacco or not to buy it.

One of our founding fathers once said, “The government that governs best governs least”. With freedom comes responsibility, may we never forget that fact.