Andrew Dickens: The obsession with telling people how to live their lives

Left right, conservative and liberal seem obsessed with telling other people how to live their lives. It's political correctness gone mad. Photo / 123RF

Opinion

By Andrew Dickens

It seems to me that personal freedom is coming under more and more attacks in modern New Zealand.

And it's coming from all sides. Not just from the social engineering left but also the conservatives. You know the ones. The people who are fond of shouting that the world is going to hell in a handcart because of political correctness.

Firstly we've got the announcement yesterday that smoking in public places is about to be banned in Auckland. Beaches, al fresco dining areas and urban areas like the CBD or shopping precincts are about to be deemed smokefree because the Council wants Auckland smokefree by the end of 2018. Of course they can't ban it because smoking is not illegal so they're relying on social pressure.

Thirty per cent of New Zealanders smoke and that's their personal freedom. They already know social pressure. Boy do they get it about their dirty habit. They're also taxed at a phenomenal rate. Thirty bucks for 25 fags. And most already try to avoid irritating the non-smokers. But to have an entire city declared smokefree is an oppression of a significant minority who are breaking no law. But I guess the Council knows best.

Here's the thing, there's a whole lot of non smoking conservatives who have no problem with regulation of someone else's personal freedom. Because it doesn't affect them. They don't want their freedoms impinged on by smelling other people's freedoms. That's the problem with freedom you need to respect other people's freedom. I tell you. It's political correctness gone mad.

Then there's the call from this weeks drug symposium for some drug use to be decriminalised and described as a health issue. Again conservatives like Bill English have no hesitation in declaring users criminals even though statistics show that 60 per cent of New Zealanders have used some sort of illegal drug at some point in their life. I guess most of New Zealand are lowlifes.

The criminals are not the users but the people who sell it, and the police already recognise that. But still many want the users criminalised. Aren't they the social engineers. Aren't they the ones who want to impinge on personal freedom? Aren't they the ones who have political correctness gone mad?

And then there's my comments yesterday that the drinking age should stay at 18. That's because the 18 and 19 year olds are not the only people causing mayhem under drink. I reckon it's not who's drinking, its how the people who drink are drinking. We saw proof of that yesterday when the acrobatic troupe that was subjected to sexual harassment by Lions fans said most of the offenders were drunks who could be the teen's dads. Now how would a change in drinking age do anything to fix that. An adoption of personal responsibility will.

In saying that I was told by many that I was a thicko liberal. Righto. I thought you conservatives believed in personal freedom. You hate nanny state. You say that personal responsibility is what we need. You want common sense. So who are you to tell all adults whether they can drink, smoke or have a joint even if they can do that without impinging on other's freedoms?

The whole world. Left right, conservative and liberal seem obsessed with telling other people how to live their lives. I tell you it's political correctness gone mad.