Silly Seatbelts Essay

1487 Words6 Pages
Silly Seatbelts Jay A Squibb Soc120 Introduction to Ethics and Social Responsibility Olivia Kerr March 10, 2011 Let me start out by saying that I believe in wearing seatbelts. Do I always wear them? The answer is no. I belong to a jeep club and frequently off road my jeep. I would never off road my jeep without my seatbelt. I am in many situations where the possibility of rolling my jeep is a reality. But I sign a release statement and I always make it clear to family and friends that I off road at my own peril. Meaning I take responsibility for my life. If I crash my jeep and die, I do not want anyone held accountable for my actions. The question pertaining to seatbelts is the restraint of freedom by the government. What role should the government play in saving a life, as it is often portrayed as a life issue? Another aspect of the issue is the economical issue or cost of responsibility to society. My question concerning the life issue is who asked u to save mine? When I want the government’s opinion about my life, I’ll ask for it. If saving lives is the goal of the effort, then the government has no right to enact a seat belt law. In my view it is unconstitutional but no one challenges the law because the marketing is on saving lives. Who in their right mind would be against saving a life? A smart ploy considering no one would be against saving a life. There is absolutely no question that seatbelts save lives. That is not the issue in my mind. The issue is the freedom of choice. I tend to get upset at those who enable the government to take away more freedoms on the premise of protecting the masses. In my opinion, any law that takes away personal choice, when that personal choice has the ability to inflict harm only on
Open Document