[Mgs] Subject: Re: Seat Belts

[Glenn Schnittke]

Murray,et al,

My take is that we Americans don't like being told what to do when most 
of us know what to do already. The marketplace is a magical thing. Given 
the data, a responsible person will choose to wear a belt because there 
is a good chance it will save his life. I myself have have been in a 
small number of accidents on the road and have done some racing. It's 
ingrained in me so much that if I'm moving a car out of the garage to 
another part of the driveway, I will automatically go to latch my belt 
before I start the car. And I would still vote against any politician 
who would try to force me by law to fasten my belt while driving on 
public roads.

We are in the midst of a national 'conversation' ( and I use the term 
loosely ) about just how far the government can go to 'make people 
responsible'. Traditionally, Americans like to be left alone to their 
own decisions and are willing to accept responsibility when they screw 
up. You will notice I prefaced that with "Traditionally". Over the last 
century the sense of responsibility has pretty much gone out the window 
to the point that we are no longer expected to have to live up to a 
mortgage agreement anymore. Some of us still believe in living up to our 
promises and social contracts. And since it is a republic slowly 
devolving onto a democracy, things will start to chance sooner rather 
than later.

And, since this is the MG's list, I must contribute some MG content. I 
drive a '67 MGB to work every day to maintain and restore old cars. I'm 
doing a hell of a lot more for the environment than Al Gore is.

End of rant. Thanks for listening. Donning fire suit.

Glenn