We’ve said it before. We’ll say it again. America loves lists.
We will list just about anything: Best ice cream flavors; worst songs of the rock and roll era; favorite overpriced coffee outlets; drunkest cities (there really is such a list: Denver is No. 1).
You see them on the covers of those magazines at the supermarket checkout: 35 best makeovers; 25 ways to lose 35 pounds; 15 unmentionable ways to treat the opposite sex. Lists, lists, lists.
A list put together by Reason magazine this month is of particular interest. Reason is a publication that advances the libertarian line of thinking: Not liberal, where the government or some other big brother tries to control every aspect of your life because, of course, they know best and you know nothing.
Libertarianism is the exact opposite. A libertarian is fiercely, some say radically, anti-government restrictions, anti-anyone trying to tell you what to do and how to run your life.
The list ranked the 35 largest metropolitan areas in the nation on restriction of personal freedoms. Given its point of view, Reason said the more restrictions, the worse the ranking. The magazine used the term “nanny-state” cities, communities that use a collective opinion on how you should run your life instead of letting you make those personal decisions.
Now Vegas, the least restrictive, is understandable. It doesn’t get the nickname “Sin City” for nothing. It’s a town where almost anything goes.
Chicago is kind of a surprise, but Reason cites a ban on serving alcohol at all-nude strip clubs, restrictive gun control laws, a public smoking ban and widespread use of surveillance cameras. It also notes that nearly a quarter of Chicago’s precincts are alcohol-free.
The point of all this is not for use as a tour guide (for a good time, go to Las Vegas). It goes deeper than that.
It points out the creeping interference of government into our everyday lives. And it shows how one restriction leads to another.
If you think gun control laws are good, that kind of intrusion of local government on your Second Amendment rights might not bother you too much. But, if you like the occasional glass of wine with dinner and the local government thinks it’s bad and says you can’t, then it’s a travesty.
The natural tendency of government is to “do something.” Politicians get reelected if they show how they changed things. Never mind that the changes are often meddling, intrusive and ill-advised. They “did something.” And to many of the gullible among us, that’s enough to vote for them in the next election.
So the next time an official says he or she “did something” about some perceived problem, take a closer look. Make sure that what he or she did didn’t simply make matters worse.
Here are the rankings, from most “nanny” to least:
35. Chicago
34. Seattle
33. New York
32. Boston
31. El Paso
30. San Diego
29. Nashville
28. Houston
27. Los Angeles
26. Charlotte
25. Philadelphia
24. Indianapolis
23. Memphis
22. Columbus
21. Washington, D.C.
20. San Francisco
19. Baltimore
18. San Jose
17. Dallas
16. Cleveland
15. Phoenix
14. Austin
13. San Antonio
12. Oakland
11. Ft. Worth
10. Detroit
9. Atlanta
8. Jacksonville
7. Portland
6. Milwaukee
5. Kansas City
4. Louisville
3. Denver
2. Miami
1. Las Vegas
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