COMMENTARY | There is no need to bother making your own dining decisions in Cleveland because the government will make them for you. Yet another blow to personal freedom occurred in American when city leaders voted to ban bakeries and restaurants from preparing food with trans fat.
True, it is not good for you, but neither are potato chips, pizza or a beer at an Indians game -- and they are still legal. If your best-selling cupcake recipe from grandma calls for evil trans fats, the food police will fine you $250 per every delicious little treat sold.
We all know that an orange for a snack is a better choice than a Snicker's bar, but should we be threatened with handcuffs if we get a hankering for some sugar during the workday? Little by little personal responsibility and freedom are eroding across America. If you want to have thighs that jiggle like Jello, that is your choice and your fault. The "Healthy Cleveland" initiative began in February as a partnership between Mayor Frank Jackson and four area hospitals. A health care facility certainly has the right to offer only healthy food and prohibit outdoor smoking on their own property, but should city-wide food choices be monitored by a municipal law?
Aren't budget shortfalls enough of a challenge for the powers that be in Cleveland? Under the health centered resolution sugar drinks will also be banned from all city owned buildings. As crazy as it may seem, there could come a day when you have to smuggle a can of soda pop to work and risk fines for surpassing your daily sugar intake.
Cleveland Clinic Director Toby Cosgrove boastfully announced the "success" he has realized after refusing to hire smokers. Is the next step in his quest as self-appointed healthy behavior czar to not hire anyone who does not fit within his desired body mass index guidelines? Hiring a "player" could become a potential health hazard if the man doesn't practice safe sex and sleeps with all the non-smoking attractive nurses. Are we headed to an era where personal lifestyle choices are a part of a job application checklist?
Will public workers in Cleveland need to hide in a broom closet to eat a piece of cake during an office celebration for fear of being passed over for a promotion due to illegal calorie consumption? Instead of subsidizing employee workouts, perhaps the clinic could instead add the extra funds to employee paychecks so they can better afford the growing cost of fresh fruits and vegetables. Walking is free and can now be undertaken in any Cleveland park without the fear of encountering a single breath of second-hand smoke. If you have allergies to certain perfumes or flowers, you will have to start your own movement to have those items deemed harmful and illegal in the city.
"We can change people's live through encouragement and enforcement," Congrove stated about the new laws. The man shamelessly feels that he has the authority to tell others how they can live their lives and the city government reaffirmed that omnipotent belief. I must have missed the memo where Cleveland was granted the authority to usurp the powers of the United States constitution. When it becomes illegal to defy logic and go without a coat when it is 20 degrees outside I am going to purchase a small island, name it America II and create a government which follows the rules outlined by our founding fathers - I anticipate massive over-crowding.
Tara Dodrill is a political, eco-green and travel writer. She is a real estate agent and former elected official, public school employee and coach from Ohio who has worked as a newspaper journalist, editor and photographer for magazines and online media outlets. Follow Tara on Twitter.
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