When I was in Dallas just over a week ago, I was driven around the city for three-and-a-half hours to see the sights. At one point I got out of the car to take some photos. A bikie rode by, conspicous for the fact that he was wearing no helmet. When I got back in the car I commented on this to my driver. He said that it used to be mandatory for all motor cyclists to wear a helmet. However, he said, people then protested that this was taking away their freedoms, so the law was reversed. So now people have been given the legal freedom to increase their chances of killing themselves!
I can remember one time in my twenties where I was coming round a corner on a wet road on a motor bilke and slithered and was thrown off. Apart from a few bruises no real damage was done, but I was wearing a helmet. Even a minor accident like this could have ended up being disastrous had I not been wearing a helmet and my egg shell of a head had made contact with the hard road.
Going back to the example of Texan freedom. Isn’t this a good example of how we take a concept of human rights, the right to liberty in this case, and make an idol out of it? And isn’t it always the case that idols demand sacrifices?
Posted October 7, 2009
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