The
following article comes from the UK but Canada is not any different. And it all starts at childhood. All one
has to do is look at school children, even the older ones, cross the
street like sheep marching to the pasture totally dependent on the crossing
guard. They don't look left, or right,
or even straight ahead sometimes if they are busy talking or texting. Those
who have allergies, are dependent on the
whole school community to cater to their differences instead of being taught by
their parents to distinguish between what they can or cannot ingest. Rather than paying the consequences for their
actions, an ever increasing number of them rely on their parents to save them from the suspension, the detention or the extra homework they may have deserved. And
God forbid that they are allowed to spend their days off school to use their imagination. No, we have to keep them
structured and busy all the time with kickboxing, ballet, soccer, hockey, piano
lessons...why allow them to be creative with their spare time? Why allow them any time off to develop
thinking skills free from any structured influence?
Excerpts from
(...) On a
relatively short journey into the office yesterday, I heard the following
message played on four occasions: “This is a special announcement. During the
current warm weather, we advise passengers to carry a bottle of water with them
while on the train.”
Who decided
that we need to be told to carry water, and why? Is the train company being
sponsored by Evian or Highland Spring? (...)
We are also
regaled with colour-coded heat-health and UV warnings along with the weather
forecast. How did people survive in the millennia before Carol Kirkwood was
around to tell them that direct sunlight can burn and hot weather is
uncomfortable? (...)
Whenever it
rains, we are informed that the station concourse will be wet and therefore
slippery. During the winter, such cautions are issued every five minutes. My
all-time favourite was when the clocks went back last October. “Here is an
announcement. The hour has changed this weekend which means that it may be
darker than usual when you return home at your normal time. Please take
care.”
(...)
So what
about plain cigarette packs or minimum alcohol pricing? Both of these measures,
promoted in the name of public health, have been abandoned by the Government in
recent days, amid controversy. Doctors have reacted furiously, especially to
the decision not to introduce plain or standard packaging for tobacco products,
shorn of any manufacturer’s logo.(...)
Those keen
to see standardised packaging say polls show a majority in favour, which is
hardly surprising since most people don’t smoke. It’s also rather beside the
point. Tobacco is a legal product and the argument that manufacturers pitch their
packaging at children may well be true. But it is illegal to sell cigarettes to
people under the age of 18, so the answer is to enforce the law. (...)
Still,
those who see these two policy retreats as representing the high‑water mark of the nannying tide will be disappointed. At the weekend,
there was talk of banning packed lunches for schoolchildren because parents were incapable of giving
their offspring a balanced diet. Ministers are now considering the provision of
free meals for all pupils up to the age of 16. (...)
Perhaps we
secretly enjoy being nannied.(...)
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