According to the Associated Press, Maine State Sen. Eric Brakey has introduced legislation giving his citizens of the choice of wearing seatbelts or not while motoring. In a striking example of the universe expressing an opinion, discussion of the bill took place two days after a 75 vehicle pileup on Interstate 95 injured at least 17 people, a circumstance of timing Brakey described as “unfortunate.”
According to the Associated Press, Maine State Sen. Eric Brakey has introduced legislation giving his citizens of the choice of wearing seatbelts or not while motoring. In a striking example of the universe expressing an opinion, discussion of the bill took place two days after a 75 vehicle pileup on Interstate 95 injured at least 17 people, a circumstance of timing Brakey described as “unfortunate.”
But the Republican also suggested people really should wear seatbelts and that he hoped that the I-95 incident would remind them to do so. However, he asserted his belief any law requiring seatbelt usage encroaches on an individual’s personal freedom.
Speaking to Maine’s Transportation Committee, Brakey declared that “Government exists to protect us from each other, not to protect us from ourselves.” The Senator obviously embraces the notion that seat belt laws are intrusive to his constituents’ lives; in conservative ideology, removing such intrusion by “big government” is a holy act.
It seems strange the issue of seatbelt usage is being revisited. Statistics regarding highway safety point to the overwhelming conclusion that seatbelts save lives and reduce injuries.
Perhaps Brakey is beholden to lobbyists from the organ donation industry, which would surely benefit if his proposal becomes law. In the past few years, a number of states (including my own) have revoked mandatory helmet laws for motorcyclists. The death toll for bikers has predictably risen, but there certainly are a few more kidneys to go around.
One wonders if the good senator supports his state’s medical marijuana law or if he plans to introduce legislation allowing its recreational use. If we take his reasoning a bit further, should government really be involved in protecting its people from the use of heroin and other hard drugs?
And what is the gentleman from Maine's stand on vaccines and public well-being? The clown car of potential GOP presidential candidates tumbling out at the Conservative Political Action Conference and elsewhere are struggling to find the right sound bite to reconcile their wholehearted passion for personal choice with their vague support for the health of the American populace.
Honestly, the endless yearning of some conservative thinkers to “get government out of our lives” is a little bit irrational. For all its flaws, government is the way we collectively get things done and the way we collectively stay safe. In general, our representatives enact laws allowing citizens access to the pursuit of happiness in both liberty and security.
Sen. Brakey and others like him say the seatbelt law encroaches on our personal choices. In their “government is the problem” pursuit of ideological purity, they ignore the hard work of addressing the real problems of their constituents.
Known for its natural beauty, Maine is nicknamed “the Pine Tree State.” Should the senator's bill become law, perhaps it will also become known for the skill of its trauma surgeons and an ample supply of organs for donation.
Pat Grimes, a former South Bay resident, writes from Ypsilanti, Mich. He can be reached at pgwriter@inbox.com
