Today it's been reported that yet another child has been attacked and killed by a dog. This time, an 11 month old girl has been mauled to death in her bed by a supposed pet, which has since been destroyed.
Yesterday, our political masters voted to introduce a ban on smoking in any car in which a child is travelling. Today, the government has made it clear that such a ban, almost entirely unenforced and unenforceable, will be brought into effect in the near future and that contravention will be treated as criminal activity.
One has to wonder why it is that our politicians prefer to involve themselves in controlling the most minor aspects of our lives while ignoring far more serious issues. While cigarette smoke may be unhealthy and even lead to some irritation of the airways, no child has ever knowingly died from its effects; indeed, other than the contentious case of Roy Castle, no one has ever been known to die as a consequence of so-called 'passive smoking'.
Conversely, many people are attacked by dogs every year and some, mostly children, are killed. Our politicians have made half-hearted efforts to control so-called 'dangerous dogs', while ignoring the blatantly obvious fact that ALL dogs are potentially dangerous. They are basically wild animals which live by hunting, killing and eating other animals; they can, and do, carry an assortment of nasty diseases. We forget these facts at our peril.
So there we have it. While dangerous, and sometimes lethal, animals are allowed, and even encouraged, to roam freely amongst us, the government proposes to make criminals of anyone who dares to smoke in a car carrying children, an offence of no proven threat to life at all. Is it any wonder that the electorate are disenchanted with politics and politicians ?
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