by Phillip Day
70% of accidents occur within five miles of the home. So move ten miles away
Two points I’d like to make on this one.
1) Take prudent precautions daily
2) Stop telling me how safe I’ve got to be!
Prudent Precautions
Sometimes people die foolishly. In America, car crashes are the leading cause of death for Americans under 35. Tragically, such disasters almost always occur because of some routine oversight, distraction or a precaution not being taken. Mobile phones, fatigue, an insect (a big one) entering the car, unrestrained pets, children and other life-forms messing around in the back seat.[1] No belt on.
If you’re attentive and sensible whenever embarking on something dangerous, obviously you will reduce the chances of accidents. For instance, seat-belt, look before pulling out, toss the mobile phone into the gym bag, etc. (Do I really need to go over this?) Driving becomes so routine for most of us, we leap into the hot-seat without much thought as to how the journey could end. Passing a smouldering wreck on the side of the motorway muttering ‘There, but for the grace of God, go I’ is not quite the same as taking precautions. By the way, slowing down to gawp at accidents (in American, ‘rubbernecking’) is the leading cause of accidents in the US!
The other side of the coin
I don’t believe the universe is out to get me. I do believe in taking precautions. That having been said, I strenuously object to those pettifogging local government health and safety Nazis passing a blizzard of directives to save me from a) myself, b) from all the risks life might chuck at me, and c), jacking up my taxes to pay for all this nannying. And complaining makes me a Philistine, of course. After all, who doesn’t want kids to be safe?
· Some schools have banned egg and spoon races in case the little darlings lose
· Cross-country running is now officially child abuse (I thought that was the whole point) [2]
· A school in Kent has banned children from flying paper aeroplanes in case they’ll have someone’s eye out
· At a school in Middlesex, pre-teen pupils are told they’ll each be given a courgette so that the purpose of a condom can be simulated. One scholar speaks for all when she asks: ‘What’s a courgette?’
Apparently adults are too thick and stupid to watch out for themselves too. For the record, I reserve the right to ride my bicycle without one of those alien-badger-plastic-nasties on my head. I’ll walk my dog in the park without a lead - at her age, Rosie is far more likely to suck a kid to death. Apparently all of us are now such a danger to each other that we are in need of 24-hour legislative protection. So politicians dream up ever more horrible ways to be busy and lawyers get rich, so cui bono?
Can you legislate the risk out of life? Of course not.
US Congressman (person) Ron Paul sniffs a rodent: ‘Freedom is not defined by safety, Freedom is defined by the ability of citizens to live without government interference. Government cannot create a world without risks, nor would we really wish to live in such a fictional place. Only a totalitarian society would even claim absolute safety as a worthy ideal because it would require total state control over its citizens’ lives. This doesn’t stop governments, including our own, from seeking more control over, and intrusion into our lives.’ [3]
So be SAFE!
We’ll be watching.
Mind how you go now
Looking for ways to make your life easier, happier and healthier? Read 100 here:
SIMPLE CHANGES by Phillip Day
70% of accidents occur within five miles of the home. So move ten miles away
Two points I’d like to make on this one.
1) Take prudent precautions daily
2) Stop telling me how safe I’ve got to be!
Prudent Precautions
Sometimes people die foolishly. In America, car crashes are the leading cause of death for Americans under 35. Tragically, such disasters almost always occur because of some routine oversight, distraction or a precaution not being taken. Mobile phones, fatigue, an insect (a big one) entering the car, unrestrained pets, children and other life-forms messing around in the back seat.[1] No belt on.
If you’re attentive and sensible whenever embarking on something dangerous, obviously you will reduce the chances of accidents. For instance, seat-belt, look before pulling out, toss the mobile phone into the gym bag, etc. (Do I really need to go over this?) Driving becomes so routine for most of us, we leap into the hot-seat without much thought as to how the journey could end. Passing a smouldering wreck on the side of the motorway muttering ‘There, but for the grace of God, go I’ is not quite the same as taking precautions. By the way, slowing down to gawp at accidents (in American, ‘rubbernecking’) is the leading cause of accidents in the US!
The other side of the coin
I don’t believe the universe is out to get me. I do believe in taking precautions. That having been said, I strenuously object to those pettifogging local government health and safety Nazis passing a blizzard of directives to save me from a) myself, b) from all the risks life might chuck at me, and c), jacking up my taxes to pay for all this nannying. And complaining makes me a Philistine, of course. After all, who doesn’t want kids to be safe?
· Some schools have banned egg and spoon races in case the little darlings lose
· Cross-country running is now officially child abuse (I thought that was the whole point) [2]
· A school in Kent has banned children from flying paper aeroplanes in case they’ll have someone’s eye out
· At a school in Middlesex, pre-teen pupils are told they’ll each be given a courgette so that the purpose of a condom can be simulated. One scholar speaks for all when she asks: ‘What’s a courgette?’
Apparently adults are too thick and stupid to watch out for themselves too. For the record, I reserve the right to ride my bicycle without one of those alien-badger-plastic-nasties on my head. I’ll walk my dog in the park without a lead - at her age, Rosie is far more likely to suck a kid to death. Apparently all of us are now such a danger to each other that we are in need of 24-hour legislative protection. So politicians dream up ever more horrible ways to be busy and lawyers get rich, so cui bono?
Can you legislate the risk out of life? Of course not.
US Congressman (person) Ron Paul sniffs a rodent: ‘Freedom is not defined by safety, Freedom is defined by the ability of citizens to live without government interference. Government cannot create a world without risks, nor would we really wish to live in such a fictional place. Only a totalitarian society would even claim absolute safety as a worthy ideal because it would require total state control over its citizens’ lives. This doesn’t stop governments, including our own, from seeking more control over, and intrusion into our lives.’ [3]
So be SAFE!
We’ll be watching.
Mind how you go now
Looking for ways to make your life easier, happier and healthier? Read 100 here:
SIMPLE CHANGES by Phillip Day
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