Comments on: Thinking For Yourself

By: DannyStaple

DannyStaple — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 20:57:30 +0000

It is the crazy litigation culture that has partially lead to this. I mean anomalous craziness like the burglar that sued a family for falling over the shoes on their stairs and *won*! That is just plain nuts…

I know that as a kid, I learned the hard way what Tobasco sauce was, when my parents gave in (after I made a fuss about them having something I was not allowed) and let me grab the bottle… Glug, glug… Screeeeam… But sheesh – I really *learned* why they would not give it to me before. The West will become Nations of dumbed down wingers without learning a few hard lessons from time to time.

By: Ariane Benefit, Neat & Simple Living

Ariane Benefit, Neat & Simple Living — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 17:37:42 +0000

Mark, if the situation wasn’t so sad, it would be really funny! We have so much work to do as a culture to get back in touch with reality. Thanks for sharing these free quotes!

By: Mark Shead

Mark Shead — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 17:54:04 +0000

I saw a quote once that went something like this:

I don’t think we should make stupidity illegal. I’m just saying we should take the warning labels off of everything and let the problem take care of itself.

That is probably a bit extreme. I don’t think warning labels are the cause of the problems. I think we teach people that they aren’t responsible for their own actions–like passing kids on to the next grade so they don’t feel bad about their failure. Sometimes it is actually good to suffer the consequences of your actions. That is how you learn.

Hopefully the next time someone shows up on these ladies doorsteps offering cheap tattoos, they will think twice.

By: Shawn Levasseur

Shawn Levasseur — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 17:44:27 +0000

In the Libertarian movement we have a phrase for this. It’s called “The Cult of the Omnipotent State”.

By: BohRev

BohRev — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 15:52:45 +0000

I couldn’t agree more. There are rural areas in the US where people are on their own and can’t rely on there being a sign to warn them of every danger. But otherwise, we’ve managed to create a populace that has no common sense at all. If there’s not a law against turning around the rummage through the junk in the backseat while you’re driving full speed ahead, it must be fine to do!

We need fewer rules and regs and laws and more accountability.

By: Franchu

Franchu — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 14:34:55 +0000

I have to agree with you, and it is one of the things that shocked me when I went to the States.

You have safety labels everywhere even for the most stupid things! When I asked around why they were doing so, I was told that if they don’t do so, companies can get sued for almost anything nowadays and it is a way to cover their backs.

I have seen it coming slowly in Europe, but we are still very far from the level of disclaimer craziness that abounds in the USA. People here are still expected to think by themselves, and companies won’t take (almost) any responsibility for their customers lack of common sense.