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VoluntaryAmerican
07-31-2012, 02:08 PM
A Modest Proposal to Save the Lives of Cigarette Addicts for the Common Good of America’s Health



Most of my life I haven’t put much thought in to cigarette smoking. I tried it once when I was fourteen with my brother. I gagged and threw it to the ground, but he enjoyed it and was there after a lifelong smoker. And this was the extent of my thoughts on the matter; that it disgusted me and made me gag.

Last week I received a call from my mother, crying, distraught. My brother had died of lung cancer at age forty one. I was not surprised after all he smoked a pack a day since he was sixteen years old, but I fell in to a deep spiral of grief nonetheless.

At nights I awoke from terrifying nightmares. It was one distinct conversation I had with my brother Anthony about quitting. I told him that he was wasting money, hurting his health, and being stubborn. He would laugh and tell me to mind my own business or watch my own eating habits. I would then angrily call him a jackass and storm off.

I have come to the conclusion that I am partly responsible for my brother’s death. I should have reached out and ripped the cigarettes from his hands and held him back. I should have locked him in his room until his craving suppressed. I should have saved my little brother’s life because that is what big brother’s are supposed to do.

But obviously this was impractical for me to do and would have resulted in my own punishment due to current laws. That is because cigarettes are unfortunately legal in America. Despite the fact that forty five million Americans are addicted and around four hundred thousand of these Americans die a year from their addiction.

Now compare these statistics with the illegal drug marijuana:

Marijuana addicts are routinely rounded up and jailed in cages. They are routinely beaten by the police, have their houses raided, dogs shot, and their children removed from their family and put in State custody. And marijuana kills far less people than cigarettes do.

We as a society understand that all these things are necessary to stop people from using marijuana. Because marijuana is the main way gang’s fund their criminal organizations (unfortunately gangs don’t use tobacco or it would probably already be illegal) and terrorize American streets. Because we understand that marijuana is a dangerous and evil drug that kills and enslaves innocent children every day.

So why do we not apply this same policing to cigarettes? Yes, I am calling for making cigarette illegal. Yes, my brother should have been thrown in jail; for his own good, to save his life.

Maybe you are still in denial, as I was. You may still think that it was my brother’s fault that he started smoking in the first place. That it was his own personal responsibility and not our concern.

This does not change the fact that if cigarettes were illegal, my brother would still be alive today. And this same thing could happen to you; because cigarettes kill mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons, and daughters, everyday.

http://mymodestproposal.wordpress.com/2012/07/31/hello-world/

trey4sports
07-31-2012, 02:20 PM
oh jesus.

CaseyJones
07-31-2012, 02:22 PM
*lights a cigarette*

Anti Federalist
07-31-2012, 02:25 PM
Another authoritarian acting for my own good.

Or is this satire?

cajuncocoa
07-31-2012, 02:25 PM
Can't we make good and informed decisions about our health without the government making something illegal?

VoluntaryAmerican
07-31-2012, 02:30 PM
Another authoritarian acting for my own good.

Or is this satire?

Lol satire.

I got 6 down votes already on Reddit and some angery comments... I think I was too convincing of a statist!

dannno
07-31-2012, 02:35 PM
My comment is awaiting moderation.

cajuncocoa
07-31-2012, 02:42 PM
My comment is awaiting moderation.:confused:

pcosmar
07-31-2012, 02:44 PM
*lights a cigarette*

Had the same reaction.

DamianTV
07-31-2012, 02:48 PM
*lights a cigarette*

Yeah, I just did too after reading the thread title.

---

Okay, lets take a real quick look at something. The author compares Pot to Tobacco and says that Gangs dont use Tobacco or it would already be illegal. This comment shows the true ignorance of the author. Gangs dont go after tobacco beacuse there isnt a profit for gangs to make on it. Well, at least for now, but the way that they are fucking with the prices of tobacco, it might as well be illegal. When liquor stores get robbed now, the thieves dont go after the Cash Register as much anymore instead favoring to take as many cartons of cigarettes as possible and sell them. And its not because smoking is bad for you. They do it with Tide Laundry Detergant as well. And Tide is much less likely to be made illegal anytime soon. Gangs go to what is illegal because there is profit to be had there, thus, making it illegal is what creates the Gangs in the first place.

I do not understand where this way of thinking of putting the Cart before the Horse comes from. Public Schools? Politicians?

Suzu
07-31-2012, 02:48 PM
If tobacco caused lung cancer, every smoker would get it. More don't get it than do. If tobacco was the cause of lung cancer, non-smokers would not get the disease. Many do.

Bottom line: Tobacco is not the cause of lung cancer; the chemicals added to commercial cigarettes will exacerbate it, but the underlying cause is mucus in the lungs, caused by consumption of dairy products. You will never hear this on TV. The American Dairy Association lobby is much too big and powerful for any news of the detrimental effects of dairy products to ever become known via the MSM.

tod evans
07-31-2012, 02:51 PM
Puffin' my pipe.....

How about open season on legislators?

Seems to me the world would be much calmer without so many laws....

NoOneButPaul
07-31-2012, 02:58 PM
First and last line is all you need to read to know this is a load of shit.


Most of my life I haven’t put much thought in to cigarette smoking.

Well that answers that...


This does not change the fact that if cigarettes were illegal, my brother would still be alive today. And this same thing could happen to you; because cigarettes kill mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons, and daughters, everyday.

Marijuana and 1920s alcohol are calling...


The fact is the author lost his brother to lung cancer so now he feels no one should be able to smoke so we can save someone else from the same pain he's feeling right now.

Newsflash brother... laws aren't going to stop that.

VoluntaryAmerican
07-31-2012, 03:01 PM
You guys never read A Modest Proposal?

http://art-bin.com/art/omodest.html

DamianTV
07-31-2012, 03:04 PM
...

(paraphrased: brother died)

Newsflash brother... laws aren't going to stop that.

Oooh oooh! We could make DYING illegal so no one would die! Just cut out all the details of how you die and get right to the chase! Wouldnt that be a much simpler solution? :p

heavenlyboy34
07-31-2012, 03:05 PM
Another authoritarian acting for my own good.

Or is this satire?
Hopefully satire based loosely on Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal".

heavenlyboy34
07-31-2012, 03:06 PM
You guys never read The Modest Proposal?

http://art-bin.com/art/omodest.html
Aw, drat-you beat me to it. :(

VoluntaryAmerican
07-31-2012, 03:08 PM
Aw, drat-you beat me to it. :(

Naturally, I wrote it!

:p

heavenlyboy34
07-31-2012, 03:08 PM
Lol satire.

I got 6 down votes already on Reddit and some angery comments... I think I was too convincing of a statist!
IMO, you're a bloody brilliant satirist. :D Keep it up!

brooks009
07-31-2012, 03:08 PM
If tobacco caused lung cancer, every smoker would get it. More don't get it than do. If tobacco was the cause of lung cancer, non-smokers would not get the disease. Many do.

Bottom line: Tobacco is not the cause of lung cancer; the chemicals added to commercial cigarettes will exacerbate it, but the underlying cause is mucus in the lungs, caused by consumption of dairy products. You will never hear this on TV. The American Dairy Association lobby is much too big and powerful for any news of the detrimental effects of dairy products to ever become known via the MSM.

lol, You are funny.

Suzu
07-31-2012, 03:31 PM
lol, You are funny.But truthful. Mucus in the lungs covers the cilia, which comprise a sort of "whiskbroom" to keep the lungs clear of inhaled pollution. Thus the efficacy of the cilia is reduced - sometimes to the point where they no longer function, if the mucus coating is thick and sticky enough. Noxious inhaled material sticks to the mucus and cannot be removed. It causes harm to the lung tissue, making it vulnerable to disease.