The nanny state is a padded cell
A core function of government is to protect the person or property of its citizens from unlawful infringement by other citizens. This can be done privately, of course, but the point is to have an independent third party assigned to protect citizens from each other, to amicably resolve disputes, and to act against those who infringe on the rights of others.
When a government takes it upon itself to protect citizens from their own stupidity, carelessness and recklessness, however, things get rather silly. First, you’ll be told that you can’t smoke, because your likely early death doesn’t make up for your medical care, paid for by others. Then, you’ll be told that you can’t eat this or that variety of fat, because some fraction of the population (probably not including you) is overweight and too lazy to do something about it.
Eventually, they cover objects in foam padding, to prevent you from carelessly injuring yourself if you don’t look where you’re going. The Daily Mail deserves a nod for referring to “the dangers of ‘unprotected text’“.
Is Britain turning into a taxpayer-funded padded cell? A communal, egalitarian bedlam?
Err, dude, this is a commercial gimmick. It has nothing to do with a nanny state.
It’s sponsored, yes. And I may be wrong — it may indeed be a gimmick. That the articles say if it works, they’ll roll it out to other areas with high accident rates suggests otherwise, however.
If it is indeed a gimmick, the fact that it works is itself a wonderful satire on the nanny state, so my headline stands either way.
I’ll just have to concede that unlikely though it seems, I can be mistaken, even if it’s only once in a blue moon. :-)