One of the most famous episodes in Seinfeld is the Soup Nazi. It has probably been watched more than any other. (In case you have missed it, there is a YouTube highlights version below.)
As life once again imitates art, years later we find ourselves beset by food Nazis of all kinds, telling us what to eat and, more importantly, what not to eat. But the matter does not stop at nagging and hectoring. It is ironic that Seinfeld, which was such an acute insightful commentary upon New York City and New Yorkers, has ended up parodying-in-advance the actual charge by Nanny Mayor Bloomberg to rule and regulate what New Yorkers can and cannot eat. Bloomberg became the actual incarnation of the Soup Nazi, aspiring to control every part of the human anatomy--for our own good, naturally. And so it has come to pass that Food Police are now everywhere--yearning and lusting for the reins of power--passing rules, regulating, and controlling, all to protect us from ourselves. Bovine New Yorkers love it. The rest of us? Not so much.
We read and hear this sort of thing almost daily:
Imposing a 20 per cent tax on Coke and other fizzy soft drinks could save 67 lives a year by reducing ill-health, a New Zealand study has found. A high sugar intake is linked to obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. [NZ Herald]Then comes the fine print:
The study by Auckland and Otago University researchers said the tax would avert or postpone between 60 and 73 deaths a year from cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes - or about 0.2 per cent of deaths from all causes. Based on economic survey data showing the effect of varying food prices on household buying, they calculated the tax would reduce daily energy consumption by 0.2 per cent.
Oh, so the proposed tax--designed as an implicit penalty for designated evil doing--would only avert or postpone about 0.2 percent of deaths in this country. Not prevent. Not grant the gift of eternal life. Only delay the inevitable--and then only 0.2 percent of deaths in any year. And the ultimate insult to this injury to common sense? We, the taxpayers, are funding this kind of inanity. They are taking our money to facilitate their swaddling us into a state of perpetual infancy.
It is a fundamental principle of civil liberty that everyone has a freedom right to go either to hell in their own way, regardless of how horrific hell may be. There is no statute of limitations on folly and stupidity. Folk have a freedom right to be foolish and stupid. If they don't, the concept of freedom has no meaning. We do not object to disclosure when it comes to food and drink--in fact, honesty and integrity and good faith are compelling reasons for its employment. We do not object to health warnings--provided they are honest, accurate, truthful and not alarmist. We all have to die of something at the end of the day.
What we absolutely object to is the Soup Nazi attitude whereby elites and self-appointed authorities rule, regulate, and attempt to ration what one shall have, when, how, and in what quantities, all for our own good. Such despotism is an anathema to a human being born free.
The Soup Nazi is comedy. The real Food Nazi's are not so funny. But, probably the best defence we have is to mock and ridicule them. If you want to get into training for the grand liberation, watch this episode of Seinfeld a few times. It is positively, nefariously seditious.
No comments:
Post a Comment