Here's a

glimmer of insight into a way of thinking that is

becoming more and more commonplace in this country.

I was

watching actor Christopher Reeve explain to a reporter

why he is lobbying heavily for legalization of research

into using human fetal tissue to help repair spinal cord

injuries like the one that paralyzed him.

At some

point, the reporter asked Reeve why he wants the

government to fund the research rather than letting

private companies do it.

"Then

you would have profiteering, secrecy and all kinds of

unregulated behavior going on." That's a rough

paraphrase, but one phrase is exact: "unregulated

behavior."

"Horrors!"

I thought.

Mr. Reeve's

point seems to be that we can't have people running

around doing what they want to do, working in their own

best interests, taking their own risks and reaping their

own rewards. People's behavior must be regulated.

Doesn't

that just send a chill running up and down your spine?

(no pun intended)

This kind

of thinking is eating at the very foundation on which our

nation was founded. Without unregulated behavior, we

would never have become the most successful nation in the

history of the world.

Of course,

Reeve was referring to unregulated business behavior. As

an observer of the political scene, it seems to me that

liberals/Democrats generally are in favor of removing all

regulations on personal behavior - legalizing drugs,

gambling, prostitution, etc. - but tightening the

screws on people's behavior as it relates to making a

living.

Republicans/conservatives,

on the other hand, tend to hold just the opposite view.

Do away with regulations that relate to the business

world, but keep all the blue laws in effect.

Libertarians

(notice the party and the philosophy have the same name),

on the third hand, believe the government should have one

function: protecting our rights to life and property from

anyone who might threaten us from within the country or

from without.

Otherwise,

they think people should be in charge of their own

behavior, both personal and corporate.

Yes, there

are Republicans who hold this same philosophy, but they

don't dare say so because the so-called religious right

is such a large voting block in the party. And there are

Democrats who agree as well, but they're held in check by

the factions within the party that believe the only way

to improve life for the poor is to take control of

everyone's income and distribute it evenly.

Most of us

don't fit neatly into any of the three ways of thinking,

or the parties either. We can see how there might be a

need to rein in some personal behavior in favor of a

safer world for all of us, and we can be talked into

accepting regulations on commerce if there is a good

enough reason, but we generally think the government is

way too big and puts its finger into far too many pies.

We listen

to the candidates and try to pick the one least likely to

foul things up too much.

But the

central idea of our republic - the idea that people

should be free to start a business and make a profit

- seems to me to be in trouble.

People say

outlandish things like "We can't have unregulated

behavior" in regard to a research project, and

nobody even bats an eye.

Frankly,

I'm a little worried.