This month, Pres...cough...Tyrant Rodrigo Duterte is expected to sign an executive order for a nationwide smoking ban in the Philippines. Once in effect, the order will criminalize anyone who smokes tobacco in public, whether indoors or outdoors. The expected ban includes smoking in vehicles, and hence, anyone who smokes while driving will face the strong arm of injustice if caught. The "gracious" government will still allow people to smoke in private homes, and for that, Filipino smokers should be...grateful?
To the Jeepney driver who always lights a cigarette while driving, I say, smoke on. To all those people who smoke their nasty "cancer sticks" out on the street, I say, smoke on. Stop letting "the government" dictate your lives. It always does so under a veneer of good, whether the "good" revolves around public health, as in this case, or the prevention of crime, as in drug laws (also passed off under the veneer of public health) or proposed curfew laws. Alluding to the Christian Scriptures, President Rodrigo Duterte and the Department of Health can be described as Satan, who "masquerades as an angel of light" (2 Corinthians 11:14).
Smoke on, my Filipino friends, and do it openly, in public places. As soon as you're kidnapped (i.e., arrested) and caged as a result, or as soon as you're penalized in any way, you'll realize the extent to which your freedom has been taken from you. But it's all for the greater good...right?
Image: Public Domain