First, do no harm

Out here in California, we vote on lots of referenda. My pro-government friends hate this--they feel laws should only be made by experts, i.e., politicians. One suggested a simple plan: that all referenda be suggestions which the California legislature could then vote up or down. I replied why not just send every voter a letter each month saying "screw you"?

It's not that I think the people are so great at creating laws. It's just that I don't think politicians are any better. Exhibit A--Governor Blagojevich of Illinois wants to ban the sale of violent video games to minors. Every time I think we're finally turning into a serious country, some politician has to back a silly law like this.

Now I admit we didn't have video games at home when I was growing up. We had to settle for TV, where Elmer Fudd shot at Bugs Bunny and Moe used a sander on Curly's head. If we wanted to use fake weapons on fake targets, we had to go outside. Sometimes we even used real weapons on real targets. It seems to me as long as there are boys (and men), they will play games that feature destruction. The trick is to teach them when and why violence is wrong, not to pretend it doesn't exist.

I don't object to parents deciding what sort of games their kids should own. In fact, that's precisely the proper way to deal with this situation. (I might add that the vast majority of people who purchase these video games are adults, and the vast majority of minors who purchase them get parental permission.)

What I do object to is politicians working overtime to make our country a worse place.