Iowa Blog Cabin

…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

When we think of a totalitarian, what typically comes to mind?  Kim Jung Il?  Saddam Hussein? A giant parade of missiles, troops and tanks goose-stepping past an adoring, self-centered “supreme leader”…or, ahem, ”Dear Leader?” 

Probably.

But in the world of 2010, there really aren’t many totalitarians like that anymore. 

I read an article the other day that got me thinking.  It’s about how Los Angeles county, California just passed a law banning plastic grocery bags and forcing stores to charge $0.10 per bag for paper sacks. 

When the law was passed, people in the audience stood up and cheered.  Other local geniuses declared, “Plastic bags are a pollutant. They pollute the urban landscape. They are what we call in our county urban tumbleweed,” said Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky. 

Others were more dire, “You cannot recycle your way out of the plastic bag problem,” Gold said. “The cost of convenience can no longer be at the expense of the environment.”

But you see, these crusaders for the environment only passed this law for unincorporated parts of the county, excluding those people and businesses in cities.  Obviously, the next step is that they now need to pass a statewide ban on plastic bags, tightening their grip on everyone and the bags they can use.  As we all know, once crap like this is passed in California, it makes its way to other areas of the country as well.  It’s simply a matter of time before anyone using a plastic grocery bag is declared, albeit not officially, some sort of eco-terrorist and enemy of the state.  Seriously.  That is what this type of legislation is doing.

Why – how – can this sort of thing happen?  Simply because the face of totalitarianism has changed – especially in western countries.  Gone are the days when we can easily identify a totalitarian by their khaki pseudo-military uniform, weird sunglasses and beret. 

I’ll make the argument that the kind of person that would advocate – devote their lives to - banning plastic grocery bags is not that different from any other totalitarian throughout the world and history. 

These are people who have committed their life’s purpose to subordinating the individual and all aspects of an individual’s life to the absolute control of the state.  This is the very definition of totalitarianism and the fact that so many people are so comfortable legislating, criminalizing and punishing plastic grocery bags is the perfect evidence that they see no individual choice or freedom as being too far out of their reach (unless, of course, that choice is to abort an unborn baby).

At this moment in time, the only real difference between these people and the militarized totalitarians of days gone by are the lack military uniforms and the unbridled use of violence to enforce their will.  And let’s be honest, the kind of person who feels so morally justified as to dictate what kind of GROCERY BAG you HAVE to use would feel quite comfortable using whatever means necessary to enforce their dictates - if only given the free rein.  The lack of free rein is the only real hurdle left.

Does this sound crazy?  If so, it’s only because our stereotypical view of what and who a “totalitarian” is remains stuck in 1965.  Totalitarianism is no longer the playground of military dictatorships, barbed-wire internment camps, giant missiles and May Day parades.  The face of totalitarianism is now do-gooding “moral-busybodies,” legislating their control for the good of the controlled at the expense of individual freedom and choice. 

Think about it.

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