Misplaced priorities
By Kevin Uhrich 04/09/2008
Patriotism, Samuel Johnson once said, is the last refuge of a scoundrel.
In today’s world, smoking, or legislative opposition to that activity, is usually the last refuge of politicians trying to hide something they’ve not done to better the lives of their constituents.
In Pasadena, regulations against smoking are already some of the strictest in California. And on Monday night, the City Council considered a new set of rules that would make lighting up in public even tougher. (Please see our story on page 8.)
But the council was forced to back down from enacting the proposed measure after a number of business people came forward and complained. Forget about any lives that the city might save with such prohibitions, an actual number for which has never really been determined; these folks correctly stated that they would be the real casualties if these new anti-smoking proposals were enacted.
It seems ludicrous to us that the city, as we head into a recession that could well turn into a full-blown depression before the Bush administration is finished plundering the American treasury, would turn its attention to something that could only hurt local businesses in the short run.
And it seems not the least bit hypocritical for this council — the same folks who have allowed and benefitted from runaway residential development throughout the city, which, despite some traffic reduction efforts, has generated thousands of additional vehicle trips that will inevitably foul local skies with tons more carbon monoxide — to now start worrying about people’s health.
If this council were really trying to save lives, it would have had the courage of other councils around the country a few years back and openly and loudly opposed this flagrantly illegal war in Iraq in which we now find ourselves embroiled; a war that has cost us many precious young lives, not to mention hundreds of millions of dollars from Pasadena alone. But, alas, picking on smokers and really dangerous killers are two entirely different things, aren’t they?
If this council were really trying to save lives, it would severely limit the number of housing units that can be built in the city in a year’s time. Have they? Are you kidding? Does anyone have any idea how much money all that building pumps into the local economy, not to mention the campaign coffers of these elected officials? That’s certainly worth a few people coming down with irreparable respiratory problems due to breathing in excessive amounts of car exhaust, isn’t it?
If this council were really trying to save lives, its members would dedicate each waking moment to ensuring every kid in this town had an education and an opportunity to make it. But are they doing that?
If this council were really trying to save lives, it would make sure every unsafe intersection in every council district had perfectly timed traffic signals and left-hand turn lanes, which some streets — like some in heavily congested Old Pasadena, where a 7-year-old boy was just struck by colliding vehicles and killed — still do not have.
We’re not laying blame on any individual. Lord knows Old Town has been a traffic challenge for cops and city officials for the past few decades. However, we hope this unfortunate tragedy sparks renewed study of that extraordinarily dangerous intersection.
But if this council were earnest about saving lives, it would ban the sale of tobacco products altogether, forego the sales tax involved, and each member would divest from every business that Big Tobacco is now in. But that’s not going to happen.
It seems banning smoking is one of those feel-good things that just about everyone can rally around, even some smokers. It’s just too bad these same council members completely missed the boat when the times came to make some meaningful positive differences in the quality of all our lives.
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