Personal Responsibility

Not.

More and more, this nation is becoming the Ultimate Nanny State. And, as with any good, growing UNS the lawsuits and laws limiting personal freedoms are burgeoning.

But, on the other hand, make no mistake: it is only because the Public is demanding it be so. The Public is absolutely unwilling to accept any form of personal responsibility for themselves, their children, their family and, on the other hand, more than willing -- in fact, desperate -- to place the blame and any possible responsibility squarely on the shoulders of those with the deepest fiscal pockets.

Two cases come to mind, one my area, one from New Jersey.

CASE ONE: A RIVER CITY and WATER DEATHS

I work in Sacramento, the capital of Fornicalia. This city finds itself adjacent the confluence of two large rivers: the Sacramento and the American. The American River is fed from the bitterly cold snowpacks of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and, at this precise point, the past few days have seen Sacramento temperatures in the high-90s and the low 100s, meaning two things: 1) the runoff from the Sierra snowpack is now kicked into High Gear and 2) due to the first heat of the season, the river(s) are where people go to cool off.

And now, during the first heat of the season, there were two deaths from drowning:

In one case, a 20-year-old man was pulled out of the American River on Saturday evening.He died just before 7 p.m., the Sacramento County Coroner's Office confirmed Sunday. Teha Pen of Sacramento had disappeared under the water's surface near the Howe Avenue boat ramp.

Pen's drowning followed the death Friday of an 11-year-old girl. Monserrat Alegere of Richmond had been swimming with family members at Tiscornia Beach when she vanished under the water. Rescuers found the girl about 30 minutes later. Authorities said she was not wearing a life jacket.

Firefighters and paramedics were called to the same location shortly after 7 p.m. Saturday. A 4-year-old boy had been pulled out of the river (CPR revived that young boy).

That a 4-year-old and an 11-year-old were sucked into the river with one resulting death is unconscionable. Therefore, after these two recent deaths, there are screams for more laws. No drinking anywhere near the river. Mandate everyone in the river have life vests -- no more "free swimming". Some are advocating the complete closure of the rivers for swimming.

Let's not hold the parents of the two affected children criminally or, at the very minimum, civilly responsible. Oh no; let's instead tread upon the rights of everyone else. Let's remove the rivers entirely as a recreational venue. After all, it's "for the children."

CASE TWO: THE HORRORS OF BASEBALL

The family of a now-14-year-old boy are suing because their son, 12 at the time of the accident, was pitching in a little league game when a line drive hit him in the chest and sent him into cardiac arrest. He stopped breathing for about 20 minutes, which resulted in a coma and a permanent brain injury due to oxygen starvation.

From ABCNews.com:

The Domalewski family is suing Hillerich & Bardsby, the parent company of Louisville Slugger, which manufacturers the kind of bat used in the accident. Also named are the local Sports Authority, where the bats are sold, and the New Jersey State Little League, which uses the bats. The family claims that all three were aware of the inherent dangers of the aluminum bats, according to the complaint obtained by ABCNEWS.com.

Yes, you read that correctly: the family is suing the bat manufacturer, the business selling the bat and the little league involved.

At issue is the metal bat used in the incident. Metal baseball bats may cost more on initial purchase but last longer than wooden bats. Some say metal bats "perform" more than wooden bats, meaning that balls smacked with metal bats go farther, faster, than with wooden bats. Some little leagues use metal bats because they can take a beating and last longer.

Now some people are considering not just limiting their use, but a total ban.

As far as I am concerned, these incidents illustrate the continuing Pussification of America, enabling the UNS. I listened to a local radio talk show yesterday; 100% of the female callers advocated mandatory life vests for all persons in the river or the complete shutdown of the rivers themselves. The men said things similar to "bad things happen."

Yes, I am sorry that children and adults are dead. But Life is tough. And place me into the list of those who say "removing freedoms in order to eliminate a small percentile of injuries or deaths is untenable and destructive."

I am certain there are those of you at this point who are calling me insensitive: "what if those were your children, BZ?" you might be asking. My response would be: "first, I wouldn't be suing -- and if those were my children who drowned, I should be criminally prosecuted for negligence."

We are on a path that assures only one thing: generations of persons who expect to occupy a risk-free world, who have expectations that will never be met, unchallenged, leading to nothing but a life of disappointment and fear. Which then leads to a nation of cowering, uncompetitive toadies expecting to be coddled, cuddled, guided and thoughtless.

Oh wait, that's right; we call those persons Demorats.

BZ