So I was driving into work today and I’m listening to the radio station is the traffic report comes on.  The report mentions a truck that has run off the road and slowed down traffic on the main freeway. They close the report by announcing who they are and the final words were “…keeping your family safe”. 
I don’t know about you , but as I thought about those words it made me realize something. This whole notion of being safe really has become a bit of its own religion . Who could argue with safety? But what is safe? Every day we hop in our cars and travel at speeds on the freeway that man was never really intended physically to do on his own . Seems pretty unsafe to me, seems kind of dangerous. So what better way to sell a product even if it is just a news report about traffic by telling us that the traffic report is going to reduce the danger of driving by being “safe” . And of course it must do that because the announcer said helping to keep you and your family safe.
Personally I find that notion funny because if I’m on the road and I am not paying enough attention to changing traffic conditions probably shouldn’t be driving. How is a radio announcement telling me the traffic conditions are changed ahead is really going to make me safe?
It seems to me that our society has become obsessed with the word or words “safe” and “safety” . If it’s not safe we can’t do it . Traveling to the moon was not safe but we did it anyway before this whole safety obession became an issue.
These days the idea of taking a risk that may be deemed unsafe is often viewed by the masses as foolish or stupid . Society has been programed with certain responses to make risky behavior something negative . It has gotten to the point that people are losing their ability to assess risk on their own and they have allowed certified agencies such as the federally installed agencies to tell us what it is safe and what is not . That is very dangerous behavior and what has happened as a result is that people are surrendering their ability to think for themselves at all. 
All of the information that you could want about most subjects can be found or researched out on the Internet. No one takes the chance anymore and they need to certify and verify everything that they do without taking any risks because it might be deemed unsafe or foolhardy.
Another example of this behavior of the safe religion that has crippled our country… We no longer have the legal right to produce much of anything product wise and as a result our economy is in the trashcan .
When will we stop worrying to the point that we do nothing in the name of safety? When will we realize that it’s okay to take a chance now and then ? When will we realize that the government doesn’t necessarily know everything and certainly does not need to make so many safety regulations that nothing gets done?
Here’s a simple example . Not too many years ago you could walk into an auto parts store or department store and purchase a gas can, it had a simple spout and a vent and it worked quite well . Now you can’t buy that simple gas can anymore because someone in the federal government decided to do a study and they determined that the simple gas can was no longer safe . Now they have designed a spout and is supposed to be much safer because apparently the morons operating these basic gasoline cans were doing this in an unsafe manner . Now you will spend 20 minutes trying to pour out 5 gallons of gasoline with this new and improved safety spout . I’ve been to the store on many occasions and noted that the shelves are usually full of these safer cans because nobody likes them and they are more of a hassle to use that they are worth . Now people are trying to modify this safety feature out of the can . It’s just an example of allowing federal government control an aspect of our lives and they’ve done nothing more than make our life more difficult in the name of safety.
When will this safety religion be stopped?