Reminder for Americans: Freedom includes risk

I ride motorcycles.  I take that risk because I still have enough freedom left to do so.  My state’s government requires that I wear a helmet in its utopian effort to protect me from my own reckless behavior.  I would wear that helmet anyway, as well as boots, gloves, and jacket, in order to mitigate the risk.

Freedom, it seems to me, requires I decide how much risk I am willing to take and how I want (or not) to mitigate it.  If I wanted to be completely protected, I would stay in my house and never ride a motorcycle.  If I wanted the experience of feeling the wind blowing across my bald head, I would ride without a helmet.  I enjoy riding and feel comfortable with my level of risk, given the mitigating steps I have chosen.

The world is a dangerous place even without this particular virus in it.  Once I leave my house, I could be hit by a bus, be stabbed in the park, contract the seasonal flu, or die from a myriad of other lethal factors.  I mitigate each of those risks daily through prudent behavior, all the while knowing I can never eliminate them.  That is my right and responsibility as a free human being.

I resent my rights being curtailed so others don’t have to be responsible for mitigating their risk, but instead put faith in politicians and functionaries to do it for them.  The reward of living my life freely is worth any risk of dying in the process.  If that prospect scares the hell out of you, “Stay Home — Stay Safe.”

I ride motorcycles.  I take that risk because I still have enough freedom left to do so.  My state’s government requires that I wear a helmet in its utopian effort to protect me from my own reckless behavior.  I would wear that helmet anyway, as well as boots, gloves, and jacket, in order to mitigate the risk.

Freedom, it seems to me, requires I decide how much risk I am willing to take and how I want (or not) to mitigate it.  If I wanted to be completely protected, I would stay in my house and never ride a motorcycle.  If I wanted the experience of feeling the wind blowing across my bald head, I would ride without a helmet.  I enjoy riding and feel comfortable with my level of risk, given the mitigating steps I have chosen.

The world is a dangerous place even without this particular virus in it.  Once I leave my house, I could be hit by a bus, be stabbed in the park, contract the seasonal flu, or die from a myriad of other lethal factors.  I mitigate each of those risks daily through prudent behavior, all the while knowing I can never eliminate them.  That is my right and responsibility as a free human being.

I resent my rights being curtailed so others don’t have to be responsible for mitigating their risk, but instead put faith in politicians and functionaries to do it for them.  The reward of living my life freely is worth any risk of dying in the process.  If that prospect scares the hell out of you, “Stay Home — Stay Safe.”