The reasons why all victimless crimes should be legal.

Essay by rottenbinkleCollege, UndergraduateA-, November 2003

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"Freedom to harm yourself"

Freedom is the ability to think, feel, and do whatever one chooses so long as he or she doesn't harm anyone else. Americans, compared to the rest of the world, have a lot of freedoms. I do believe, though, that there is one freedom that is being ignored by the American government. This freedom is the right to harm yourself.

The American government has gone too far in creating laws to protect people. If someone doesn't wear their seatbelt, they aren't causing any danger to anybody else. If someone wants to die, it shouldn't be anybody's decision but their own. The government has no right in making laws to force people to protect themselves.

Earlier, in my English 101 class, a topic was brought up about people that want to grade children for weight in elementary school. Many students in the class agreed that people have a right to be fat and unhealthy if they want to.

This, like wearing seatbelts, is a topic that the government shouldn't be sticking its nose in. Nobody wants to be told by the government that they can't have candy and soda. People have a right to live unhealthy lifestyles.

Many people would argue that the reason victimless crimes are illegal is because the government's interest is to help the people. However, people only need two parents. They don't need the government telling them what to do in these in these cases. It is one thing for a mother to tell her son to wear his seatbelt or to not eat ice-cream. It is different, however for the government to intervene in this situation.

Basically, there is little difference between the government telling you that you can't be unhealthy and telling you to wear your seatbelt. The right to harm one's self is so fundamental that it is wrong for the government to take it away.