THE DREADED SMOKING BAN

So... January 1st is here... and the state of Illinois is officially smoke-free in public places. There is so much hype about this. I have never heard so many cranky people screaming in a bar before in my life. And just let me say this...there ARE two sides to the story. Although we all lay on one side...let's open our minds and think about it. Smokers say it's our right to smoke, it goes hand and hand with drinking...we're not forcing other people to smoke, it's our freedom and the state has no right to take that away. Non-smokers say it's our right to breathe clean air in a bar. Sure we choose to be in the bar, but we don't choose to breathe in second-hand smoke, which the surgeon general has declared very hazardous to our health. More people are dying every day of second-hand smoke. Well both sides have a point and they're sticking to it. What makes me mad is this: I am hearing a lot of complaining about the loss of freedom from a smoker's point of view. It may be true, but the argument tends to lead toward a more intense ending to which people proclaim things like: "we may as well live in another country because we have no rights here." "We'd be better off being a member of al qaida, where we actually have a say in what's going on." Yes....I heard that directly from someone's mouth last night, and several mouths in one way or another. Well let me tell you something, you may not be able to smoke while you're wasted in a bar running your mouth, complaining as you put your coat on to go outside and smoke in this God-forsaken controlling country, but:
-- If you were living in China, you wouldn't be complaining about lack of freedom. You wouldn't speak your mind at all, because you could be incarcerated or assassinated.
-- Go ahead, and join Al Qaida if you think you have more freedom, a lack of health care in the countries the group operates in would probably kill you before smoking ever could.
-- If America is so bad, why do people risk their lives to get here?
-- Only in the U.S. can someone burn a flag, and it's considered a right of free speech.
-- And by the way... the other "free" countries also have smoking bans. America is the latest rider on that train.
So bitch on smokers, bitch on...but don't play the freedom card...please.