Madam, - It is with increasing fascination that I observe the activities of our Government: the emasculated Freedom of Information Act, the proposed blanket ban on smoking in the workplace, gardaí warned against communicating with the press, revised and tightened licensing laws. It strikes me that the Government is showing an alarming enthusiasm for interfering in areas that would be better left alone.
Many of these policies seem to stem from a rightist ideology rather than from any practical consideration. Some call it the "nanny state". Whatever one calls it, it brings to mind images of a distinctly Orwellian hue.
Most people would agree that when it comes to modern democracy, less government is definitely more and a light touch on the helm is eminently desirable in anyone whose responsibility it is to steer the ship of state. Obviously we need some order. But not too much order. And it is simply unacceptable today for the State (or any institution) to set itself up as the moral arbiter of the people. Individuals have the right to run their own lives with a minimum of interference from officialdom. Unfortunately, some members of this Cabinet don't seem to have grasped that concept yet.
A cursory glance at the history of our century should suffice to convince us that real freedom and a government that is certain that it knows best are mutually exclusive. This has always been the case.
But perhaps I'm being unjust? Maybe it's just that our leaders, having solved all of our country's major problems, now have the time to meddle in - sorry, I mean help out with - all those problems of personal choice with which we mere mortals can't really be trusted. Perhaps Mr McDowell can hold my umbrella for me while I stand outside the pub some rainy night with a cigarette in one hand and a pint in the other? - Yours, etc.,
DARAGH BEIRNE,
Grosvenor Square,
Rathmines,
Dublin 6.