Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!neat.cs.toronto.edu!mgreen
Newsgroups: ont.general
From: mgreen@cs.toronto.edu (?)
Subject: re: Sunday Shopping
Message-ID: <89Dec22.171153est.2186@neat.cs.toronto.edu>
Organization: Department of Computer Science, University of Toronto
Distribution: ont
Date: 22 Dec 89 22:12:11 GMT
Lines: 38

There is no point in arguing point-by-point with someone like Kevin
Picott. Stripped of rhetoric, his basic view is that anybody who
doesn't think like him is out to destroy society. He is out to impose
his on will because, like all authoritarians, he knows what's good for
me and everyone else. We're all going to  have children and go to
church whether like it or not, right Kevin? 

It's nice to know that there is someone out there looking after us.
Kevin's out to relieve our stress and make better citizens of us. He's
out to insure that we don't fall into paganism and anarchy. Perhaps he
should make a film like "The Day After" which depicts the squalor and
dpravity of the world, not the day after a nuclear war, but a day
after Sunday shopping.

Kevin doesn't care that his views fly in the face of empirical
evidence. Everywhere Sunday shopping has been allowed, it has been a
huge success, and no one would consider going back to restricted
shopping. The vast majority of people simply like it. On the other
hand, there is absolutely no empirical evidence that a "day of rest"
does any good. Where is the proof that it reduces stress, improves
family cohension or provides any other benefits? But Kevin's right -
we should give our freedom simply because he knows what's good for us.
We would be unreasaonable to ask for proof that our freedoms were
being restricted for a good reason.

I'm also glad that Kevin wants to stop us from working too hard to get
ahead.  If Joe is willing to work at the store on Sunday and Fred
wants to stay home with the kiddies, it wouldn't be fair because Joe
would get the promotions. Kevin reminds me of the resentment my
schoolmates had towards the high grades of the Chinese kids, "it's
unfair because they study so much." Gee, Kevin, you don't think that
the reason those nasty old Japanese, Americans and Brits own so much
of the Canadian economy is because they don't worry about whose
shopping when or working on weekends? 

For all of us out here who so desperately need your guidence, thank
you, Kevin, on the path of morality and good health. By the way, do
you also take confession?