Why is it that, despite all of those who fight against raising the latest age limits, after losing the battle, most of them suddenly go quiet? I mean, the silence is truly deafening, as we saw after they raised the drinking age to 21 in the 1980s as well as the smoking age to 21 in recent years in some states and localities.
The answer is the "banality of evil", that is, it becomes normalized. Just like every other form of tyranny and oppression, most people simply adapt to it. And that is very dangerous, as history has so painfully shown time and time again. History may not exactly repeat itself, but it sure does rhyme.
All the more reason to redouble our efforts, yesterday. So what are we waiting for?
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ReplyDeleteEarlier in October, I visited Washington, DC, I saw from a convenience store that the smoking age and tobacco purchasing age had been raised to 21. I heard from a man that the minimum age was raised earlier in October. The sign at the counter said that everyone who buys tobacco must present photo ID, regardless if the person is middle aged or not. The banality of evil will be impossible to challenge. It runs through the ideas that we believe in. For example, if a person supports a candidate who supports progressive taxation, this would also mean that the candidate also supports a smoking age of 21. Issues are linked together; they are disconnected and cannot be spliced.
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