Mom says, "Buckle Up!"

When I got my license at age 16, my first drive on my own was a disaster. My friend, my sister and I piled into my dad's Jeep to drop the friend off at his house. It was March, and in the peak of rainy season, and for about a hundred yards, my dad's car became a boat, borderlining on submarine status.

But before I left on that drive, my parents gave me warnings, "Drive carefully!"; "Don't speed!"; "Buckle up!" Their reminders rang in my ears the way they always do. Other favorite reminders they like to call after me include, "Don't forget your lunch!"; "Make good choices!"; and "Go to bed!" And like so many other teenagers, I took all of these reminders with a grain of salt. Once I hit age 16 I started to find the incessant reminders almost insulting, like my parents didn't think I was mature enough to remember to do something as simple as eat lunch or go to bed.

Perhaps I found this insulting because I enjoy my independence. I like to pay my own bills and work hard and pave my own path, and I definitely don't want anyone to tell me how to do it or do it for me.
But does the rest of the nation feel this way?

Our newest President of the United States has put an emphasis on personal responsibility. On March 10th, 2009, while addressing the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, he was quoted as saying, "Of course, no matter how innovative our schools or how effective our teachers, America cannot succeed unless our students take responsibility for their own education. That means showing up for school on time, paying attention in class, seeking out extra tutoring if it's needed, and staying out of trouble." (Emphasis added by myself.)

If students need to take responsibility for themselves, then why don't drivers?

The state of Minnesota enacts a new law today that will benefit drivers. This new law is "empowering law enforcement officers to pull over and ticket motorists for no other reason than failure to wear a restraint while driving. They can tack on extra pain for those drivers with unbuckled passengers under the age of 15," according to Kare11.com.

While on my way to work today, I listened to a local radio station, KS95, discuss what a great law this is. They discussed all the good things that can come of wearing your seat belt: helping you stay in control when you swerve, save your life in accidents, even keeping you more focused on what you're doing behind the wheel.
What bothers me is that no one seems to notice that this is a common sense law.

Why should the government have to make wearing a seat belt a law?
Why are there restrictions on the healthy content of our food? Why are there restrictions on smoking?
In our public school science courses, we learn about survival of the fittest. If my own person, not hurting anyone else, wants to smoke at age 17, eat trans fats, and drive around without a seat belt on, why can't I? All of those things don't sound like the greatest ideas, of course, but have we really reached the point where our parents aren't enough supervision?
Have we reached the point where the citizens of the United States won't ever really reach adulthood, because under the rule of our government, we will forever remain children? Is there suddenly a new glass ceiling, a ceiling of adulthood, which all citizens who don't create law will never be able to advance beyond?

I'm not saying that wearing your seat belt isn't a great idea, because it is. It is a personal responsibility, like brushing your teeth or taking a shower.
I appreciate the reminder from my family and friends to buckle up, and even from my car, which makes obnoxious dinging sounds until I'm secured to my seat, but my qualm remains that perhaps the government is overstepping its boundaries, from ruling body to parent.