When I first began driving no one used seat belts. Although most cars had seat belts installed we just tucked them between the seats.
It wasn't long before the government began advertising seat belts using PSA's - Buckle Up And Live. Both on TV and on billboards we'd see the advertisements and in large part hardly anyone would complain about tax dollars being spent for this use.
Today, of course, everyone uses seat belts and our cars will scream at us if they are not fastened. Some vehicles won't even start unless the seat belts are engaged. They are now universally accepted and only a fool would argue against their use. Which is exactly why I use seat belts as an example of government gone wild.
It's not the use of seat belts I oppose, I think they are terrific. But it is the way the federal government approached the entire issue that is wrong. Only the U.S. government can screw up such a universally accepted idea as seat belts.
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The seat belt issue began with advertising - PSA's funded by taxpayer dollars. As a general rule these don't bother me much and these traditionally warned against doing something such a littering or smoking. They used to be quite common. And icons such as Smokey The Bear or the crying Indian were seen on a regular basis on our TV's. But we just don't see many PSA's anymore because the government has changed their approach. Instead of offering suggestions, via PSA's, they just go straight to the heavy hammer these days by passing a law and ramming it down our throats.
They could have advertised the energy savings with LED lights, but they just passed a law instead and outlawed incandescent light bulbs. It's just one example obviously, but we all know there are many more. In general, they could promote this behavior or that, or discourage other behavior, but the U.S. government has gone out of the suggestion business. Today, with government gone wild everything is my way or the highway.
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In the case of seat belts, after the PSA's ran on TV for a few years our fearless leaders starting putting pressure on the states to pass their own seat belt laws. Because all states receive federal funding for highway projects the Feds made it clear, either you pass a seat belt law or we cut off your highway funds. Back then, they wouldn't dare try to pass a national seat belt law due to the outrage that would surely follow - State's Rights and all that. So they used the back door, the carrot and stick approach.
The states all panicked of course and quickly passed their own seat belt laws for fear of losing those precious federal tax dollars. All states except one. Vermont or Connecticut, I forget which, told the Feds to take a hike. It was not the use of seat belts they opposed, it was the heavy handed approach being used by the Feds. Take your carrot and stick and shove it.
The time frame difference makes for an interesting comparison. It wasn't all that long ago that our politicians knew better than to pass sweeping national laws for fear of backlash from the majority of citizens. Even for such an innocuous idea such as using seat belts. The reason was the population had a different mind set, a different educational system, and words such as Freedom and Liberty held real meaning.
