Daniel Boone vs. the Nanny State:
The Nanny State is the antithesis of America

By GEN LaGRECA
Genevieve (Gen) LaGreca is the author of "Nobel Vision," A novel about liberty

Today, Oct. 22, marks the 273rd anniversary of the birth of an American icon: Daniel Boone. This death-defying adventurer axed his way through the Appalachian Mountains to settle Kentucky and open the Western frontier. Stamped across his rock-hard life is the trademark of America: the pioneer spirit to cross new frontiers and control one's destiny.

Back then, America was formed to set people free to run their own lives. Today, our vastly expanded Nanny State looks after us. Is this a good thing? Imagine you're a pioneer of yesteryear. How would you fare with today's nanny on your back?

As you prepare your covered wagon for journeying West, inspectors report that your wheels fail to meet safety standards, the canvas on your wagon is not fire retardant, and the yoke on your oxen could be harmful – not to you, but to the beasts. Although you've traveled safely in the wagon before, you're slapped with fines and forced to correct the problems. You leave for your journey with a lighter wallet – and a heavier spirit.

When you reach your new town, you find that land isn't cheap anymore. The government took huge tracts off the market to preserve the wilderness. One of the townspeople sells you a plot – at 10 times what he paid for it. You learn that he was one of the councilmen who passed the law preserving the wilderness. He smiles to welcome you to town, but you have difficulty smiling back.

You plant a crop, only to learn it is forbidden. The government decided there was enough of it and any more would lower the price. You find that your neighbors on the town council who passed this law are the folks who grow that crop. You also discover that some farmers produce no crops – and get paid for their empty fields with your tax dollars.

You suppress your frustrations and search for a way to succeed. You enjoy making furniture, so you decide to open a shop. But wait. You must file permits with a dozen agencies. This means hiring lawyers and accountants, which you cannot afford, so you must give up your dream of starting your business.

You get another jolt: the tax bill. You discover that your nanny demands a big piece of you to fund the agencies running your life.

You're just starting out, but you feel drained. The promise of a new life has vanished.

In time, you learn to play the game. You join the town council to build government instead of furniture. You work in a blacksmith's shop where you do a lousy job, but you get a law passed that forces your boss to pay you more than you're worth.

Your wife cuts the townswomen's hair. She worries about losing customers to a new haircutter. But you get the council to enact a law requiring any new haircutters to complete 500 hours of instruction and pay a hefty fee for a license. This protects the public from unsafe haircuts.

Despite your maneuverings, you feel no joy. Your life is no longer in your control, but depends on the arbitrary whims of the council. You've lost the confidence and drive you had when you started out. You've become fearful and conniving. The town has destroyed you.

What happened in this hypothetical town is also happening in our country.

Once we lived by our own efforts; now we demand government "entitlements." Once we respected the rights of others; now we pass laws to tax and control everyone. Once we reined in government to unleash individual freedom; now we rein in the individual to unleash state power. Once we were pioneers sprinting toward the American Dream; now we're distressed travelers caught in a maze called the Nanny State.

The Nanny State is the antithesis of America. It violates a person's right to act freely and instead compels him to follow the state's dictates. It corrupts the citizens by giving some groups unearned benefits at the expense of others. It corrupts officials by giving them unchecked power to dispense favors, to make or break lives, to control entire industries, to confiscate property, to redistribute wealth. It anesthetizes the people to its unbridled power by telling them they will be taken care of, as if trading freedom for dependency were desirable. It uses the chilling weapon of the police state – force – to impose its edicts.

Today's nanny concocts a bitter brew of hundreds of alphabet-soup agencies to regulate our lives. How many modern pioneers are choking at this campfire?

To grab the reins of our lives, to ride free and unafraid like Daniel Boone, we must get the nanny off our backs.

Article reprinted from: http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/nanny-state-town-1899452-government-new

MORE ABOUT GEN LA GRECA:

Noted Economists Praise New Novel 'Noble Vision'; Reflects the Current Controversy in Healthcare; Should the Government Control the Medical Treatment of Individuals?

Hardcover, $27.95 US SPECIAL: Buy 2 or more hardcover copies for $19.95 each ISBN 0-9744579-8-1 (Photo: Business Wire)

Gen LaGreca, Author of Noble Vision

When economists and social commentators rave about a new novel, it's time to take note. Milton Friedman, Nobel laureate economist, said about Chicago author Gen LaGreca's medical thriller "Noble Vision": "The defects of government-controlled medicine are dramatized effectively in this page-turning story of the love of a brilliant physician for a beautiful ballerina who becomes his patient." Also weighing in is magazine magnate Steve Forbes, who called the book a "salutary tale of what can happen to medical breakthroughs if Big Government claws even deeper into our healthcare system!"

"Noble Vision"'s accurate descriptions of the nightmares of state-run healthcare have earned endorsements from medical leaders, including Edward Annis, past president of the American Medical Association, and Jane Orient, executive director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons.

Recent news events have raised the question: Should the government have the power to make decisions concerning a person's medical treatment? "Noble Vision" examines this heated controversy -- not through a dry nonfiction treatise but through the enchantment of fiction.

LaGreca, a former pharmaceutical chemist and a healthcare writer, created two intriguing characters -- Nicole Hudson, the lovely Broadway dancer who rose to stardom from a disadvantaged childhood only to have her life shattered by a tragic accident, and David Lang, the impassioned neurosurgeon determined to restore her health no matter what price he must pay.

Nicole's only hope is Lang's revolutionary treatment -- a way of regenerating damaged nerve tissue to cure paralysis and other nerve injuries. The trouble is that this new procedure is rejected by "CareFree," New York's universal health system, a bureaucracy bogged down in budget overruns, red tape and political corruption.

The surgeon stands to destroy his marriage, lose his license -- and even be arrested -- if he uses his unauthorized procedure. But if he gives his patient the conventional treatment approved by the government, she will remain disabled for life. Should he follow his mind or obey the law? The patient ardently wants the experimental treatment. Should she be allowed to make medical decisions for herself, or should the government intervene? These issues wreak havoc in the lives of "Noble Vision"'s characters.

Asked what moved her to write "Noble Vision," LaGreca replied, "After years of working in the healthcare industry, I feel as if I'm witnessing the slow death of something great, something that shouldn't be allowed to die -- America's gold standard of medicine."

As innovative as its surgeon-protagonist, "Noble Vision" breaks the mold encasing much of today's fiction. In an age in which plot stories and character studies, not to mention romances and thrillers, appear in distinctly separate categories of fiction, and far-reaching themes are rare, "Noble Vision" delightfully combines a rich mix of story elements in one satisfying read. The novel was a finalist in the Houston Writers League Manuscript Contest.

"Noble Vision" was released by Winged Victory Press, a Chicago-based independent press dedicated to publishing works that celebrate the American spirit of individualism. "There's a growing demand for books reflecting our distinctly American ideals of liberty and limited government, as well as the personal initiative and achievement that result from being free," said LaGreca. Winged Victory Press will also publish the author's second novel, a semi-finalist in the Pirate's Alley William Faulkner Creative Writing Competition.

For more information on LaGreca's novel, "Noble Vision," or her views on the healthcare controversy as the thematic conflict of the book, contact Sara Pentz, 949-719-0902, sara@sarapentz.com, or contact LaGreca directly at glagreca@wingedvictorypress.com.

                 NOBLE VISION, a novel by Gen LaGreca

         Distribution in U.S. and Canada: Biblio Distribution/NBN

         6 X 9 inches, 338 pages, published March 2005

         Hardcover: ISBN 0-9744579-8-1, $27.95 US

         Paperback: ISBN 0-9744579-4-9, $14.95 US

Available from bookstores in the U.S. and Canada, Amazon.com, Laissez

Faire Books (lfb.com), capitalism.net, and others. 

Free excerpt is available at www.wingedvictorypress.com.

Contacts:

Pentz Productions
Sara Pentz, 949-719-0902
sara@sarapentz.com
or
Winged Victory Press
Gen LaGreca
glagreca@wingedvictorypress.com