Current Events Public Policy

The Nanny State: Clean your room!

Libertarians often complain that the government intrudes too much in our lives.  Nanny State, a book by Denver Post columnist David Harsanyi, claims that the government is regulating what we do to an extent that it is becoming a surrogate parent.  “Why are we allowing politicians, bureaucrats, and social activists to dictate what we eat, where we smoke, how much we drink or what we watch and read?” (source: Power Line).  If you believe the diatribes of these delusional government-haters, pretty soon the government will be monitoring how clean our room is!

Well, looks like the government is not going that far just yet.  Right now, Uncle Sam only cares about how neat our carry-on bags are.  According to in article (‘Holiday airline travelers urged to chuck carry-on clutter‘) in the USA Today,  “the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) today launches a campaign urging travelers to eliminate clutter in carry-on bags. Pack in layers. Keep items neat. Messy travelers could spend more time in line if their carry-ons are cluttered because such bags are more likely to be pulled aside and searched by hand, TSA spokeswoman Ellen Howe says.”

Are messy people more likely to be terrorists?  If so, any TSA officer who might have inspected my bedroom when I was 10 years old would have believed that I was Osama bin Laden himself.