CAUTION Living May Be Dangerous To Your Health

When I was a kid, about 3 years old, I got stitches in my lower lip. Although I have very vague memories of the incident, I know more about it from the stories I've heard. I was in a car accident and my tooth went through my lower lip. I'm told that I was fighting the doctors so hard that I had to be wrapped up in a sheet with just a small hole cut out over the injury in order to get the stitches in. I've often wondered if that explains my worsening claustrophobia. I wasn't in a car seat. I wasn't sitting in the back seat. I was either sitting or standing in the middle of the front seat as I often did when traveling via car.

I was telling a co-worker recently about a bike I had when I was a kid that I had purchased at a neighborhood garage sale. The seat hit me at my armpits when I was standing next to it and it barely had any brakes. My feet could barely reach the peddles when I hopped up onto the seat and I had to jump off of it in order to stop. And, of course, I didn't wear a helmet when riding.

I'm so sick of hearing warnings about what will harm me or shorten my life. I'm sick of our government making trans fat illegal but at the same time allowing the food industry to add high fructose corn syrup to everything I eat.

Until recently I was a smoker. Ohio voted to ban smoking in public places in order to protect non-smokers from the harmful effects of second hand smoke. Non-smokers are fond of telling smokers that smoking kills.

Do you know what the leading cause of death is? LIVING! You can't die unless you live. And no one living is going to escape death. I didn't wear a seat belt when I was a kid or even sit in a car seat. I didn't wear a helmet when I rode my bike. I'm still here. Why? Apparently I've not reached my unknown expiration date.

Our government doesn't enact laws to keep us safe or to allow us to live longer. Our government enacts laws based on the squeaky wheels of successful lobbyists who have their own interests to protect. Plaintiffs winning lawsuits against manufacturers for dangers inherent in their products result in laws which protect the manufacturers from further lawsuits. The consequence is that these laws protect us from ourselves and at the same time chip away at our freedom to choose how we live our life.

We can earn our freedom back. We just have to stop suing and accept the fact that living may be dangerous to our health. Take responsibility for your choices. You can't have your cake and eat it too.

• You are not entitled to a life without hardship.
• You are not entitled to a life without suffering.
• You are not entitled to a life without illness.

If you choose to turn to the government to ensure that you live your life without hardship, suffering or illness then you are also choosing a life without freedom.

Living is dangerous to your health. But the only alternative is death. So get out there, take the risk, and LIVE!