silly britney

Norman Singleton had this to say on the Lew Rockwell blog, in a post entitled "Silly Britney":

She thought the father of her baby was her husband, when it is actually the state. Hopefully, the investigation of whether Britney violated the state's rules forbidding a mother to hold her child in her lap while driving will teach her that she only controls her child's upbringing as long as her parenting has government approval.

Singleton is an excellent writer and thinker, and I always enjoy reading reading what he has to say. However, I think he is a bit off base on this one, so I sent him the following email:

Dear Mr. Singleton:

With regards to Britney Spears and her rights to drive around with her baby on her lap, please consider these points:

1) If Mrs. Spears had been involved in any type of frontal collision, her baby would very likely have received serious injury by banging against the steering wheel. If it was of sufficient force to deploy the driver's side airbag, the baby would likely be dead. (Air bags shouldn't be federally mandated as they are, but even without federal mandates, it is likely they would still exist in some form as a marketable safety item).

2) If the roads were privately owned and operated (as they should be), it is highly unlikely that there would be no rules against endangering children's lives by letting them ride on your lap a couple of inches from a deadly airbag. The road industry, like any other, would want to avoid liability and to develop a marketable reputation for safety. Nor is it likely that insurance companies would tolerate such stupid, reckless and costly behavior in the absence of state laws.

3) In a free society, there is no right to not be ridiculed for acting foolish. I have long desired to live in a world completely free of government, where people govern themselves by self-control (and the fear of being embarrassed or sued, where necessary). The potential for a photographer to snap a picture of you doing something foolish and reckless on a public road is exactly the type of thing that might persuade people from engaging in such activity, all without the need for government control of any kind.

Regards,

-jmc