To the Editor:
???Being the health nut that I am, I was really happy to hear about the awesome initiative that is UBreathe Free. I think that all smokers need to quit smoking as fast as they can, especially in light of the fact that smoking killed my grandfather three years ago to the tune of brain and lung cancer.
???However, a trip to my relatives over Christmas opened my eyes to a real danger that our campus and our country is in, and it goes much deeper than smoke and will choke us three times more than a pack of Marlboro lights. That, as Eric Hillary pointed out in "Smoking ban gets students burning," [Jan. 23]is tyrannical government control. Hillary so eloquently stated that the upcoming smoking ban "is really fascist . . " Now fascism isn't specifically what I'm talking about here, what I'm talking about is what my friends in the South told me at the dinner table over break.
???I mentioned that UB was going to be smoke free starting in the fall and my friend told me that one of the first things the Nazis did when they came into power was to issue a smoking ban in Germany and a host of other "feel good" policies that lulled the German people into the sheep clothing claws that were Adolf Hitler's. Of course, we're only talking about UB here folks, but who is to say that eventually these ideas won't be spread elsewhere? Who is to say that over a period of the next four to eight years that a couple of favorable policies wouldn't slowly rock our minds to sleep until something majorly wrong happens to our country before we could possibly do something about it? I think that good meaning policies like this are only going to increase in number and severity until people who have a clue realize that something has gone awry. By then, it will be much too late and it will be an uphill battle to get our basic American rights back, that is IF we will even be able to fight if our second amendment rights are taken away.
???People, let's take a lesson from one of our Founding Fathers: "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." (Benjamin Franklin) It is stupid policies like this smoking ban that threaten our freedom: This freedom that our forefathers fought for and that our great grandparents fought to preserve in World War II) I really hate smoking with a passion, but when I took a trip down south and walked into a bowling alley where almost everyone in there was smoking, I was hit with culture shock but at the same time I said "You know what? this is freedom, this is what humanity was designed for, this is what most of the countries in this world would LOVE to have." Let's keep our freedom intact UB, it starts on college campuses, but if this type of "ban" is allowed to spread elsewhere, it could mean the loss of many other freedoms as well.
???Maintaining freedom is important, but none of us will be able to pay attention if we don't put down our iPod's, laptops, and Blackberry's and pay attention to the political landscape! Instead of checking Facebook during your free time, log onto some news sites and check out what's going on in our world and our campus. We can't do well on tests if we don't know the material, so what makes us think that we can fight for and maintain our freedom if we don't keep up with the major events affecting our lives? So, put down your five dollar rip off cup of Starbucks, pause your iPod, and focus for a little bit each day on the problems of our country and campus and think about ways that YOU can help solve them. A country divided will fall, yes. But a country and campus distracted by Britney Spears gossip and American Idol will suffer the same fate if some attention is not given to the pillars that hold our country high above the rest. What will it be UB? Trade some freedom for temporary safety? Or fight for freedom and gain TOTAL assurance? It's up to you.
Nick Piersimoni
Senior English major
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
