Smoking Bans

Of course, the good nanny-state liberals of Portland, Oregon cannot stand for smoking in public places -- whatever free-willed individuals find enjoyable must be sacrificed to the alter of political correctness. And so Oregon legislators seem determined to enact an indoor smoking ban in bars and taverns, because of course the free-willed citizens of Oregon must not be required to have to choose for themselves whether or not they will patronize an establishment based on its smoking policies -- no, the smoking policies of the establishment must be bent to comply with the majority view.

Smoking has been going on in bars and restaurants for as long as tobacco has been around, which goes back thousands of years. I despise tobacco smoke as much as the next fellow--both for its horrific stink and for the health effects on those who stupidly smoke it. (I am still open on the question of haphazard exposure to second-hand smoke, except for the year-after-year complete inclusion suffered by people like waitresses, bartenders, and smoker's spouses. But, of course, all these people can chose to be elsewhere.)

But stupidity is still a right in this country, and bar and restaurant patrons should be free to excersize their stupid habit if the owner of the establishment agrees. He agrees knowing full well that it may drive nonsmoking patrons to other businesses, which is the way it ought to be in a free and capitalistic environment.

But not, not in Oregon. Here all free choice must bend to the popular will. And so, owners of private business establishments will most likely soon be required to extinguish all smoking materials, because of course we cannot trust adults to make choices for themselves -- choices of whether or not to smoke, of whether or not to allow smoking in their private establishment, and of whether or not to patronize an establishment based on their smoking policies.

No, as of right now (3:20 pm), 78.5% of the "good citizens" of Oregon would have smoking banned in bars and taverns, according to the online poll in the Oregonian (which, being an online poll, is complete scientific crapola).

Isn't it strange -- 78.5% is about equal to the percentage of nonsmokers in the state, as well. It doesn't really seem that the state's citizens really believe in rights for anyone but themselves.

This, despite doubts that the "science" of secondhand smoke it all it's been advertised to be. Most of us have been exposed to secondhand smoke at some point in our lives, and although it made our clothes smell like shit it hardly left us keeling over in tobacco-inspired cancers.

But the question remains: shouldn't free-thinking adults be allowed to decide for themselves whether or not they will allow smoking in their places of business? And, shouldn't free-thinking adults be able to decide for themselves whether they will patronize a business based on its smoking policies? What's the problem with this?

Not, apparently, in Nanny-land, where we all must live the same, politically correct lives. Really, when you think about it, it's the perfect philosophy for Pretentious Portland. And for the whole pretentious state of Oregon as well.