Quote of the day II

Antonio Martino:

...Since "the government" pays for our medical care, we are not free to live our lives in a manner that is deemed unhealthy by the authorities. The standard argument for the panoply of restrictions on activities considered unhealthy is that people who engage in them are more likely to get sick and "impose a cost on society." As a result, what is deemed dangerous or unhealthy is banned, and what is considered healthy or otherwise beneficial is made compulsory: speed limits; helmets for motorcyclists; seat belts; restrictions on the sale of pornographic material and the consumption of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco; and so on.

We are heading toward a society in which dangerous sports will not be permitted, pedestrians will be required to have licenses, obesity will be illegal, and what we are allowed to eat will be determined by the National Dieting Board.

Martino, a former Italian foreign minister, spoke these words in 1990. While he was probably exaggerating for effect in the last sentence, the U.S. has since gone on to ban trans-fats in some areas and there is now talk of a soda tax to fight obesity.