Monday, August 02, 2004
Demons and smoking: a connection or not?
Hello once again, friends! I'll start by saying I wasted about 40 minutes at work playing a game online based on the manga/anime Inuyasha. It can be found here. Anyway, when I got home, my 56k modem wasn't cutting it. I wanted to battle anime demons at normal speed! In my frustration, I decided to finally do something I have been considering for a month or so...
No, I didn't call to get DSL or cable modem service. I started a second blog, dedicated only to manga and related fun. It keeps this site free of my ramblings (well, manga ramblings) and also keeps my manga site free of religion and politics (well, except manga related religion and politics). Please visit it, and feel free to bookmark it. I will be allowing each post to take viewer comments as well. I want it to become a fan community site, separate from my diary posts. Won't you join in the fun?
On to business... as I waited for Akane and Inuyasha to load, I watched the news. I mentioned a post or two ago that I wanted to talk about smoking. The topic once again surfaced on our local news. Many people want local governments to ban smoking in public areas, mostly restaurants. Omaha's government has avoid this sticky topic, and said that it is up to the state to make such a ruling.
The problem is that there is already a precedent for a city to make this decision for its citizens without the state's help. When I lived in Colorado, the city of Boulder was smoke-free (about everywhere but your own home and car... and sometimes not even your own home). And tonight it was announced on the news that Lincoln (Nebraska's capital) is allowing its citizens to vote on the issue. Should the city be smoke-free?
Lincoln has twice passed a smoke-free ordinance, but both times the people were able to petition it with enough names to halt it from going into effect. The advocates for smoke-free say that smoking is intrusive. It makes those around you smell like smoke, and the second-hand smoke enters the lungs of those who choose not to smoke. Also, many employees say that they are putting their own health at risk when they are subjected to the smoke.
I sympathize with the non-smokers. I do not smoke, and I think it is a bad habit. Everything I have learned in my science readings and health training tell me that there are nothing but serious, negative effects from smoking. Not to mention it is expensive, stinky, and addictive.
But I do not support a governmental ban. Why? Because people already have the power to "ban" smoking. Employees can find different jobs. That sounds easier than it should, but the choice was made to work in such an environment, and a choice can be made to leave. Patrons can likewise find food elsewhere. These are not public school rooms and hospitals were are debating over... we are debating over bars, lounges, and casual dining facilities.
When this low-carb Atkins Diet nonsense exploded in America, only the truly dedicated were able to easily participate. They were throwing away buns, asking for substitutes for fries, or even bringing their own elements of dinner with them. Grocery stores did not carry low-carb anything at first, unless it was naturally so. Then the fad kicked in.
Now every restaurant has a low-carb portion of its menu. Many food producers have started to manufacture low-carb items, even substitutes of their normal line. Restaurants everywhere proudly post carb content information on their billboards and windows. Coke and Pepsi both have offered a low-carb soda, almost specifically to the demand of Atkins dieters. And guess what, the government did not have to twist any arms to make this happen.
You see, the business community responded to what matter most to the world... money. It saw earnings that were to be made. Enough dieters were throwing away buns that Burger King decided to offer hamburgers wrapped in lettuce instead. Subway saw their sandwiches start to slump, and offered wraps and salads. Diet Coke sales are through the roof. All because the service industries and production industries respond to dollars.
If enough consumers decided that being smoke-free was important, a smoke-free environment would begin to exist. It is a form of protest; withhold your business and make it know that you are intentionally doing so. You do not NEED Applebee's to survive. But it is fun to go there. Write the manager, tell him you miss eating his food, and that you plan to return when there is no smoking allowed. Enough of these letters, and a lack of dollars flowing in, and the manager himself will paint the "no smoking sign" on the door.
We too often look to a higher force than ourselves to do heavy lifting. The government is wasteful and inefficient, and most of the time it is our fault that it is. We expect them to legislate for us on behalf of our pet peeves and whims. We have the power to make changes a lot larger than smoking bans without the governments help... and yet we neglect to.
We don't have to wait for laws or voting days to make a change in our lives. We have become lazy in that aspect. Let's all remember the slyly atheistic mantra; "God helps those who help themselves." You want Omaha, Lincoln, and Council Bluffs smoke-free? Then do it. Eat at home. Write letters. And enjoy your freedom to make change.
See ya!
No, I didn't call to get DSL or cable modem service. I started a second blog, dedicated only to manga and related fun. It keeps this site free of my ramblings (well, manga ramblings) and also keeps my manga site free of religion and politics (well, except manga related religion and politics). Please visit it, and feel free to bookmark it. I will be allowing each post to take viewer comments as well. I want it to become a fan community site, separate from my diary posts. Won't you join in the fun?
On to business... as I waited for Akane and Inuyasha to load, I watched the news. I mentioned a post or two ago that I wanted to talk about smoking. The topic once again surfaced on our local news. Many people want local governments to ban smoking in public areas, mostly restaurants. Omaha's government has avoid this sticky topic, and said that it is up to the state to make such a ruling.
The problem is that there is already a precedent for a city to make this decision for its citizens without the state's help. When I lived in Colorado, the city of Boulder was smoke-free (about everywhere but your own home and car... and sometimes not even your own home). And tonight it was announced on the news that Lincoln (Nebraska's capital) is allowing its citizens to vote on the issue. Should the city be smoke-free?
Lincoln has twice passed a smoke-free ordinance, but both times the people were able to petition it with enough names to halt it from going into effect. The advocates for smoke-free say that smoking is intrusive. It makes those around you smell like smoke, and the second-hand smoke enters the lungs of those who choose not to smoke. Also, many employees say that they are putting their own health at risk when they are subjected to the smoke.
I sympathize with the non-smokers. I do not smoke, and I think it is a bad habit. Everything I have learned in my science readings and health training tell me that there are nothing but serious, negative effects from smoking. Not to mention it is expensive, stinky, and addictive.
But I do not support a governmental ban. Why? Because people already have the power to "ban" smoking. Employees can find different jobs. That sounds easier than it should, but the choice was made to work in such an environment, and a choice can be made to leave. Patrons can likewise find food elsewhere. These are not public school rooms and hospitals were are debating over... we are debating over bars, lounges, and casual dining facilities.
When this low-carb Atkins Diet nonsense exploded in America, only the truly dedicated were able to easily participate. They were throwing away buns, asking for substitutes for fries, or even bringing their own elements of dinner with them. Grocery stores did not carry low-carb anything at first, unless it was naturally so. Then the fad kicked in.
Now every restaurant has a low-carb portion of its menu. Many food producers have started to manufacture low-carb items, even substitutes of their normal line. Restaurants everywhere proudly post carb content information on their billboards and windows. Coke and Pepsi both have offered a low-carb soda, almost specifically to the demand of Atkins dieters. And guess what, the government did not have to twist any arms to make this happen.
You see, the business community responded to what matter most to the world... money. It saw earnings that were to be made. Enough dieters were throwing away buns that Burger King decided to offer hamburgers wrapped in lettuce instead. Subway saw their sandwiches start to slump, and offered wraps and salads. Diet Coke sales are through the roof. All because the service industries and production industries respond to dollars.
If enough consumers decided that being smoke-free was important, a smoke-free environment would begin to exist. It is a form of protest; withhold your business and make it know that you are intentionally doing so. You do not NEED Applebee's to survive. But it is fun to go there. Write the manager, tell him you miss eating his food, and that you plan to return when there is no smoking allowed. Enough of these letters, and a lack of dollars flowing in, and the manager himself will paint the "no smoking sign" on the door.
We too often look to a higher force than ourselves to do heavy lifting. The government is wasteful and inefficient, and most of the time it is our fault that it is. We expect them to legislate for us on behalf of our pet peeves and whims. We have the power to make changes a lot larger than smoking bans without the governments help... and yet we neglect to.
We don't have to wait for laws or voting days to make a change in our lives. We have become lazy in that aspect. Let's all remember the slyly atheistic mantra; "God helps those who help themselves." You want Omaha, Lincoln, and Council Bluffs smoke-free? Then do it. Eat at home. Write letters. And enjoy your freedom to make change.
See ya!
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