I am sure that every one of us has a little list of things that, if eliminated, would make the world a better place in which to live.  I too have a list but I have shortened it to two worst cases of the American freedom to make choices.  But, there is a caveat.  I believe in freedom of choice and the freedom to make an ass of yourself if that is what makes you happy.  I also believe that your freedom of choice is negated when your choice interferes with my choice.  And there is the rub.  But, I still would like to explicate on my choices of the two worst cases of what Americans choose to believe is their rights.

The two are: smoking tobacco and owning and walking around with firearms.  My pointing this out to my readers will run against the grain of those who smoke and who support gun ownership.  I do not think that smokers will protest my knowledge of and conviction that smoking is harmful to those who smoke and the second hand smoke generated is harmful to those exposed to it. Smokers know this is true but they believe their rights to be ornery and stupid protect them and their habit.  That the tobacco producers entice non-smokers into the habit in order to protect their monstrous incomes is recognized but no one has yet to do anything meaningful to reign in the production of tobacco and its advertisements.  The insipid idea that a warning be placed on each pack of cigarettes should make you shudder at the continued activity of selling packs with warnings to children here and abroad.

I am not through with tobacco.  I need you to understand that the raising of millions of acres of tobacco plants takes that land out of production of food stuffs.  Destroying the tobacco industry will only provide more work for those who work in agribusiness raising grains, vegetables and fruits which are good for you and me.  When you think of the rustbelt, a devastatingly accurate picture of what happened when our heavy industry was shipped over to foreign shores, you can think that this might not be a bad thing because there are traditional jobs out in the fields cutting furrows and weeding while hoping for rain.  Whatever you think of this argument, tobacco is bad for you and only good for those who make a profit over selling you something that will eventually give you emphysema and choke you to death.

I have not left much space for my second worst choice - that of gun owners and those packing heat as if their lives depended upon it.  Much as I would agree it looks smart and dashing, your life does not depend upon you having a weapon on your person in the event that someone else with a gun will want to kill you.  You have no idea how ridiculous this idea is if you believe that you have insurance protecting your life against killers with guns.  The gun manufacturers are the only ones benefiting from the production of the gun you have your eyes on.