As a society matures, they say, it is expected to grow wiser as well.
Having assumed that, you would think the United States — the world’s
greatest “advanced” nation — should have wisdom to spare.
While there are certainly vast numbers of “intellectuals” in this
country, we seem to be lacking “wise” men and women. Another glimpse
into the tobacco debate will bear this out.
Reuters
recently reported that a Norwalk, Conn. man was arrested last October
for allegedly allowing his two-year-old son to puff on a cigarette.
According to the report, the man — 36-year-old Andrew Mason — was seen
by an employee of the Connecticut Department of Families and Children
“allowing his 2-year-old son to smoke a cigarette in a restaurant.”
The witness “claimed that the child handled the lit cigarette in a
way that suggested he was familiar with the rituals of smoking, holding
it between his fingers and taking several puffs.” Police Sgt. Patrick
Morris agreed, telling Reuters, “The child was puffing on the
cigarette.”
“The description (the witness) had given would indicate to us, and it
was her impression as well, that the way this child was smoking the
cigarette was clearly not the first time,” Morris said — though no
trial has been held yet and nobody knows for sure whether this assertion
has any basis whatsoever in truth.
But assume it does for a moment.
The state of Connecticut is willing charging Mason, the father, with
felony risk of injury to a minor — which carries a maximum penalty of
up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
Did you catch that? Up to 10 years in prison. A fine of $10,000. A
felony.
Good Lord. There are rapists, murderers, and armed thieves who don’t
serve that much time in jail.
But Mr. Mason might — all because his child may have taken a
puff or two on a cigarette.
Now, look, before you contact me to express your disbelief at my
attitude here, give me the opportunity to make some points.
First of all, this kid does not belong to the state of
Connecticut; he belongs to Mr. and Mrs. Mason. If anything, the
kids’ parents are guilty of stupidity — but being stupid in this
country is not supposed to be a crime.
Second, we’re talking felony child endangerment here? Please,
at best, the data about smoking and that dreaded second cousin,
“second-hand smoke,” is dubious. At every juncture, and in every
academic circle — every one of them — the so-called “findings”
of liberal anti-smoking research has been, and continues to be, either
contested or outright refuted by non-partisan scientists who have
conducted better and more far-reaching research. They don’t
necessarily support smoking, mind you — they are just tired of seeing
the good name of science besmirched by politically motivated idiots with
an agenda.
Third, consider this example. For many years — before Americans were
so completely co-opted by left-wing wackos and their anti-tobacco
hysteria — do you realize that one of a parent’s most favorite
punishments, after catching their kids with cigarettes, was to make
them smoke the entire pack, one right after the other, so they’d get
sick, puke, and vow never again to touch the things? And it worked!
Today, however, such a parent — genuinely concerned about a
child’s smoking and genuinely wanting to keep the kid away from
the things — would be locked up like a dog for a decade, just like
real criminals are. At least in Connecticut.
Worse, it’d probably take some left-wing wacko ACLU-type all of five
seconds to have the parent tried for violating the Eighth Amendment’s
prohibition against “cruel and unusual punishment.”
The PC wackos have successfully shamed our leaders into criminalizing
virtually every aspect of tobacco — but lacking any law
specifically prohibiting a parent from allowing his child
to smoke, Connecticut officials were able to drum up a quirky and
arbitrary “endangerment” charge instead.
I have no idea if this Mason kid was “puffing” on a cigarette for
real, but I do know a couple of things about today’s America:
- Rarely will you meet a child welfare and social worker who
isn’t zealous about finding fault in the way parents raise kids today. - More and more of us are willing to treat politically incorrect
actions and thoughts as real crimes worthy of the most severe
punishment. - Being “anti-PC” at one time was not a crime; it was a
right — and not one dependent on government “allowing” us
to use it.
The tobacco debate, like many others, needs to be brought back
into the realm of reality. Wise people would demand it.
