Nanny State-Is She A Libertarian Now?!

The other day, while flipping through our broad array of standard cable channels, I happened upon our county PBS channel. There was a guy talking about how the U.S. Government was turning into a "Nanny State."

Simply the term intrigued me, but as he went on to talk about what he meant, I knew I at least had to read his book. It is David Harsanyi's premise that the government is ever-so-slowly creeping into our personal liberties under the guise of "doing what's good for you." This "nannyist" legislation ranges from mandatory seatbelt laws to making it a question of government as to whether or not a restaurant outside of Decatur, GA, can serve a hamburger on a bun of Krispy Kreme doughnuts (barf!).
Now, don't get me wrong, some of the legislation that he demeans clearly has benefits-clean air laws, for instance. I HATE going to restaurants with smoke. Actually, the author seems to have no problem with restaurants themselves saying they are "NON-SMOKING" restaurants. his problem is the fact that the government is making it THEIR business to tell the restaurants what they can and can't have in their business, even if ALL or most of their customers smoke or don't mind it in their place of business.
Another issue he brought up was the government deciding what you could and couldn't do in your own car. Did you know there is legislation in several states that is underway that hopes to ban smoking in cars? I'm not exactly sure of the reasoning, but it seems a little crazy to me. The restrictions on what people can and can't serve children at school is also really interesting.
Overall, Harsanyi's argument is that the American people aren't total morons. They know that wearing a seatbelt is probably a better idea than not wearing it. They know that eating a giant bowl of trans-fat goodness for breakfast isn't the best idea. But here's the thing: in a nation where we say "liberty" and "freedom," boneheads who want to drive without their seatbelts on after eating a trans fat meal from a fast food restaurant on their way to a party where they'll smoke all night...well they ought to have the FREEDOM to do it!
I'm not a libertarian. Yet. His arguments have their merits and their downfalls. All I'm saying is, it is certainly an interesting conversation.
I checked out this book from our library and finished it in two days. I recommend it, even if you think it might make you mad, it's at least interesting to ponder thoughts on liberty and freedom-thoughts I haven't had in a long time.