I was looking through the Constitution and don't see any authority given to the Federal government for compelling us to do things bureaucrats determine are for our own good. Quite simply, the ignorance of people about our form of government and the limits imposed on Federal power are astounding --or I should say, the intended limits, which have long since been transcended by the control freaks and Nanny staters. There is no Constitutional authority for a Federal Department of Eduction so everything it does, and every imposition it makes, is illegal. Most of the government today operates without Constitutional authority and is hence, illegal. That such powers have been illegally assumed says a lot about the ignorance and indifference of the American people. And it's amazing that so many otherwise intelligent people think politicians and government bureaucrats know what's best for everyone, and are so willing to shed personal autonomy and responsibility for a big Mommy and Daddy with the power of life and death. I end with the following quote, which should be self-apparent for all but the dimmest bulbs in the pack:VoiceofReason wrote: "But they were doing it for our own good."
To answer your questions: yes. Anything you want to do (as long as it doesn’t harm others) you should be able to do without government interference. The more government is allowed to control people, the more they are going to try to.
If you want to be fat you should have the right to be fat. Thanks to the government, everyone is aware of the dangers in being fat, smoking and other vices. OK thanks for telling me those things are unhealthy, now leave me alone and keep your nose out of the size my soft drink cup.
The government has their noses in just about everything people do now, too much so. From seat belts to the size of toilet tanks. If some people don’t have the courage or enough sense to stand up now and say enough they will wake up some day paying extra taxes for every pound overweight and in a mandatory physical fitness programs.
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." C.S. Lewis