There are two types of people in
this world: there are those who ardently desire change, and then there’s me.
Of course there are more people
than me who just want to be left alone, but that number seems awfully low if
you listen to the news.
In my younger years you could
find me living in a household laden with smokers. My Mom, Dad, sister, and Grandmother, all
smoked cigarettes, and Dad imbibed in the occasional cigar to memorialize
special events, such as Saturday.
Ashtrays dotted the house and
backyard, coddling countless plain and filtered butts, and plenty of gray ash
and paper matches.
The house, our clothes, and the
family car did not smell of smoke, largely because all of our olfactory senses
were numb from the nicotine. It really
didn’t matter anyway since the neighbors and friendly family members smoked,
too.
For our Canadian readers,
olfactory is a fancy word that relates to the sense of smell.
But one day, some people with too
much time on their hands decided smokers – who pay taxes on each cigarette –
should be punished for smoking.
Their claim was that all this
smoking was unhealthy and would ultimately lead to death. The really bad news is that everyone, smoker
or non, is going to die. Some will die
with functioning olfactory systems, though.
But I digress.
The weak-minded among us sided
with the self-anointed anti-smokers, and that alliance continues today.
Unfortunately, smokers are
addicts. They became “hooked” on a
cocktail of chemicals and additives introduced at the tobacco factories. Quitting cigarettes is akin to making people
voluntarily stopping your heart.
Nonetheless, the pressure to get
smokers to quit their habit only increased.
The anti-smoker’s motto became “It’s only a start!”
All restaurants used to have
ashtrays on tables, airplanes had ashtrays built-in to armrests, cars had
ashtrays in the dashboard or in consoles, and theaters used to have ashtrays to
better accommodate smokers.
Soon, smokers were forced to
stand outside in the rain, or heat, or cold, or pestilence, because that smoke
was offensive. Then, condo and apartment
smokers were forced to quit because of the deadly and newly-contrived
“second-hand smoke” scam.
The novel claim was that the
nefarious smoke stealthily snuck betwixt and between concrete walls into
unsuspecting neighbors’ abodes. Sure.
Suddenly, cigarettes became the
only legal product that was illegal to use.
Think about that for a second; I’ll wait for you.
Municipalities now forbid smokers
from smoking outdoors and
indoors. Still, they are expected to pay
exorbitant taxes on each coffin nail.
That’s because smokers are bad, bad people who need to suffer.
So it was with interest that I
read that those same municipalities that are punishing smoking addicts are now
pandering – promoting – the use of illegal drugs.
It seems as though so many “good
citizens” are using illegal narcotics and overdosing that society now wants to
help keep those douchebag druggies alive by administering Naloxone.
Naloxone is sold under varying
brand names, including Narcan, and is used to quickly counteract the effects of
opioids during those unfortunate overdoses.
Local governments are pleading
with state and federal authorities for money to buy and equip medical and law
enforcement personnel with these life-saving inhalants and injectors.
Some states and cities have caved
and spent the going rate of $4500 per dose of Narcan, but have done little, or
nothing, on forcing these miscreants to cease using illegal narcotics.
Neat, eh? What about those cigarette smokers? Ahem.
Just remember this when elections
are being held, or budgets are being passed.
It was once said that politicians
are like baby diapers; they need to be changed regularly. It’s about time for a change.
