LIBERTY IS NIBBLED AWAY, FOR EXPEDIENTS

In the final refrain of the national anthem of the United States describes
our country as the "land of the free and the home of the brave." But
increasingly, the phrase rings hollow as one by one Americans are having
their freedoms stripped away and bravery comes from only the few courageous
soles willing to risk fines and jail to exercise freedom.

I know this sounds harsh and to many it might even sound ridiculous, but
what amazes me is that others fail to see it and become equally upset.

As an example of what I'm talking about, take the recent announcement by
the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) that they are considering a ban
on nutritional supplements, shampoos, body care products, and anything else
containing hemp or hemp oils.

Hemp, of course, is another name for the plant that produces marijuana.

Rest assured that none of the products meant to be taken internally contain
the marijuana's psychoactive ingredient THC. Nor is the hemp used to
produce the products grown in the United States.

The DEA argues that it "might" be possible for traces of the drug to be
absorbed through the skin by people using the body care products thus
causing them to give positive test results if they are ever tested for
substance abuse.

The Coalition to Save Hemp (CSH), an organization assembled specifically to
fight the ban, argues that THC cannot be distilled from the products and
cites numerous studies to indicate it cannot be absorbed through the skin.

Despite facts to the contrary, the DEA wants to create an "interim rule"
that will have the force of law as soon as it's published in the Federal
Register. No public input or legislative action is necessary in order to
implement the rule.

Imagine facing up to one year in a federal prison and a $10,000 fine on a
salad dressing rap.

I know it sounds ridiculous, but if you don't believe me, check out the CSH
Web site at http://www.SaveHemp.org.

If banning shampoo and salad dressing doesn't shake you up, then perhaps a
future ban on cigarettes will. Not because cigarettes are a good thing, but
because the attack on tobacco companies and smokers has been so quick, so
direct, and so public, it is hard to ignore.

If you thought the war on drugs was something, wait until the war on
cigarettes starts.

Cigarettes are a terrible habit that directly contributes to the death of
an estimated 400,000 people every year, but the question of making
cigarettes illegal is something that transcends the health related issue
and enters the arena of personal rights and freedoms. It raises the
question of how far government in a free society should go to protect
people from themselves.

Of course the Constitution never guaranteed people would only make wise
choices. Quite the opposite, it guaranteed the individual right to make
stupid choices and left the responsibility for those decisions in the hands
of the individual.

Philosopher/economist Edmund Burke once said "the true danger is when
liberty is nibbled away, for expedients."

The expedients today include a smoke free/drug free society, safe
playgrounds, safe jobs, safe cars, and a safe environment. They also
include free or low cost health care, free or low cost prescriptions, and a
comfortable retirement. You can add to the list the so called freedom from
hunger, freedom from illiteracy, and freedom from failure.

Government today has ruled that it is expedient to sacrifice personal
freedom on the alter of good intentions and has removed personal
responsibility from the formula. By so doing we have also come to believe
that misbehavior is the fault of society and our jails have become crowded
with victims rather than offenders.

The reward our country reaps for this transgression is a homogenized
society of sameness where individuals need not distinguish between right
and wrong and responsibility is always found elsewhere. Individuality
languishes in a sea of irresponsibility where all fault for personal
shortcomings lie elsewhere.

Those who disagree with governmental pronouncements will not be tolerated
and the individual's only obligation is to obey.

Woodrow Wilson once said, " The history of liberty is a history of the
limitation of governmental power, not the increase of it."