GOVERNMENTS MUST STOP ACTING LIKE PARENTS

Re: Push For Legalized Pot Just Dopey, Brian Hutchinson; Skiing In
Nova Scotia? You'll Need A Helmet, both Dec. 7.

The juxtaposition of these stories was appropriate, as Brian
Hutchinson and the province of Nova Scotia demonstrate the same
fundamental view of the proper role of government. They both see
governments as parents, who have a responsibility to protect their
children from the consequences of their own actions. If instead one
believes that government ought to concern itself only with the
establishment, preservation and protection of an environment that
allows each citizen to live his life according to his own values and
judgments, then banning marijuana and forcing grown men and women to
wear helmets on the ski slopes are equally absurd and wrong.

Mark Wickens,

Toronto