anti-smoking blindness
Cora lives in a small community which got along okay before the anti-smoking propaganda came along. Now, it's not only divided over the issue but it's also blinded by it as to the real causes of death and disability in the community, if not the world.
"Since the so-called war on terror, one young man in our community has died fighting for the freedom of other people in other lands -- and two have come back wounded," says Cora. "All of these boys were smokers or came from smoking families, and I would imagine this scenario fits a lot of our fighting men and women."
"Tell me, why it is okay to waste young lives fighting for the freedoms of Iraqis and Afghans while at the same time they're taking away OUR freedoms," sighs Cora. "And, to add more fire to this argument, don't they know that more Iraqis and Afghans smoke than don't smoke?"
"Why would the Iraqis and Afghans want freedom and western democracy if it means that they, too, will one day be forced to quit smoking in order to join the New World Order?"
"If our soldiers didn't die for freedom -- yeah, even the freedom to smoke -- then what did they die for?" asks Cora. "Big Oil, Halliburton or the Bush family's prestige?"
"None of the anti-smokers I've spoken to seem to understand the irony of this situation and they are totally blinded by their prejudices," sighs Cora. "All that matters to them is that THEY don't get to smell our smoke any more, and THEIR lives aren't shortened any more by our smoke. Freedom is a word that's missing from their vocabularies."
"Well, let me tell you, not one person -- smoker or otherwise -- has died of lung cancer or any smoking-related disease in this community for as long as I can remember," says Cora. "All those smoking death statistics that the health department is coming out with must apply to the big cities where carcinogens other than cigarette smoke play a part."
"I'll tell you what people are dying from around here," confides Cora. "They're dying of alcoholism, road traffic accidents, heat exhaustion in the summer, pneumonia in the winter and just general old age."
"And now we have the death of a healthy young man to add to our community death statistics," sighs Cora. "And it's a death from a totally preventable cause -- war."
"Why are people so blinded as to the real causes of death?" asks Cora. "Why are they believing all those anti-smoking lies about smokers causing their own premature deaths as well as those of others?"
"The deaths of the 3,000 people who were killed by 9/11 were an absolute tragedy -- an unavoidable one, as far as we know," says Cora, ''but can we say the same for the equal (and growing) number of our young people who've died in the subsequent war of revenge?"
"And what about the incredible number of innocent civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan who've died in this war -- the so called 'collateral damage'?" asks Cora. "Don't they matter?"
"If the anti-smokers want to bring up the mythical number of 'preventable' deaths from smoking," says Cora, "then they should be forced to focus their eyes on the very REAL number of preventable deaths from war, alcohol, motor vehicles and everything else."
"Could it be that they're too busy raking in the profits from war, alcohol, motor vehicles and everything else to care?"
"All I know is that the anti-smokers around here are just smug-happy to have won their right to a non-smoking environment over our right to smoke and couldn't give a fig about the war or anything else," says Cora. "We are banned from smoking everywhere except in our homes, and even that right is now being threatened."
"Before the bans, we had smoking and non-smoking areas and everyone was happy," says Cora. "Why did the government have to step in and change all that with its anti-smoking propaganda based on questionable health hazards?"
"Frankly, I feel bad talking about my pathetic right to smoke when thousands of people around the world are dying terrible deaths from war, diseases and starvation," sighs Cora, "and yet if the whole thrust of the anti-smoking movement is to eradicate preventable deaths and disabilities then why are they focusing on smokers and turning a blind eye to the MAJOR causes of preventable deaths and disabilities -- wars, alcohol, motor vehicles, bacteria, viruses, poverty and overpopulation?"
"In fact, why did our government start a war that would kill more people than smoking has ever caused?"
"If you can't stand the smell of cigarette smoke, guys, then put a peg on your noses or hassle the tobacco companies to produce perfumed cigarettes," says Cora. "Just don't insult my intelligence -- and blind those with less intelligence -- with your exaggerations about smoking hazards and how much you care about human lives."
"Since the so-called war on terror, one young man in our community has died fighting for the freedom of other people in other lands -- and two have come back wounded," says Cora. "All of these boys were smokers or came from smoking families, and I would imagine this scenario fits a lot of our fighting men and women."
"Tell me, why it is okay to waste young lives fighting for the freedoms of Iraqis and Afghans while at the same time they're taking away OUR freedoms," sighs Cora. "And, to add more fire to this argument, don't they know that more Iraqis and Afghans smoke than don't smoke?"
"Why would the Iraqis and Afghans want freedom and western democracy if it means that they, too, will one day be forced to quit smoking in order to join the New World Order?"
"If our soldiers didn't die for freedom -- yeah, even the freedom to smoke -- then what did they die for?" asks Cora. "Big Oil, Halliburton or the Bush family's prestige?"
"None of the anti-smokers I've spoken to seem to understand the irony of this situation and they are totally blinded by their prejudices," sighs Cora. "All that matters to them is that THEY don't get to smell our smoke any more, and THEIR lives aren't shortened any more by our smoke. Freedom is a word that's missing from their vocabularies."
"Well, let me tell you, not one person -- smoker or otherwise -- has died of lung cancer or any smoking-related disease in this community for as long as I can remember," says Cora. "All those smoking death statistics that the health department is coming out with must apply to the big cities where carcinogens other than cigarette smoke play a part."
"I'll tell you what people are dying from around here," confides Cora. "They're dying of alcoholism, road traffic accidents, heat exhaustion in the summer, pneumonia in the winter and just general old age."
"And now we have the death of a healthy young man to add to our community death statistics," sighs Cora. "And it's a death from a totally preventable cause -- war."
"Why are people so blinded as to the real causes of death?" asks Cora. "Why are they believing all those anti-smoking lies about smokers causing their own premature deaths as well as those of others?"
"The deaths of the 3,000 people who were killed by 9/11 were an absolute tragedy -- an unavoidable one, as far as we know," says Cora, ''but can we say the same for the equal (and growing) number of our young people who've died in the subsequent war of revenge?"
"And what about the incredible number of innocent civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan who've died in this war -- the so called 'collateral damage'?" asks Cora. "Don't they matter?"
"If the anti-smokers want to bring up the mythical number of 'preventable' deaths from smoking," says Cora, "then they should be forced to focus their eyes on the very REAL number of preventable deaths from war, alcohol, motor vehicles and everything else."
"Could it be that they're too busy raking in the profits from war, alcohol, motor vehicles and everything else to care?"
"All I know is that the anti-smokers around here are just smug-happy to have won their right to a non-smoking environment over our right to smoke and couldn't give a fig about the war or anything else," says Cora. "We are banned from smoking everywhere except in our homes, and even that right is now being threatened."
"Before the bans, we had smoking and non-smoking areas and everyone was happy," says Cora. "Why did the government have to step in and change all that with its anti-smoking propaganda based on questionable health hazards?"
"Frankly, I feel bad talking about my pathetic right to smoke when thousands of people around the world are dying terrible deaths from war, diseases and starvation," sighs Cora, "and yet if the whole thrust of the anti-smoking movement is to eradicate preventable deaths and disabilities then why are they focusing on smokers and turning a blind eye to the MAJOR causes of preventable deaths and disabilities -- wars, alcohol, motor vehicles, bacteria, viruses, poverty and overpopulation?"
"In fact, why did our government start a war that would kill more people than smoking has ever caused?"
"If you can't stand the smell of cigarette smoke, guys, then put a peg on your noses or hassle the tobacco companies to produce perfumed cigarettes," says Cora. "Just don't insult my intelligence -- and blind those with less intelligence -- with your exaggerations about smoking hazards and how much you care about human lives."
Labels: 9/11 bush, anti-smoking, Big Oil, blindness, death, democracy, halliburton, health hazards, iraq, smoking, war in terror
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