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The statement of a free
society in this argument is very misleading and untrue. Our society is not
a totally free society, we live in a society that is governed by a republic
or a representational form of government. A “totally free society” is an
Anarchist view of society. To clarify, Anarchists are given to a principle
or theory that our lives should be conducted under which is without
government, laws or regulations and that our lives are not subject to
submission to law or being obedient to authority but by free argument
(http://a4a.mahost.org/piotr.html).
Here is a common
misstatement: “I like to live in a free society. A society where people
have the right to do what they want as long as the majority feels ok with
the activity. Therefore, I am against those that believe they have the right
to impose their beliefs on someone without the support of the majority.”
This is an Anarchist
viewpoint of no government. It is also a view of society is common,
uniformed and not grounded in the reality of the kind of society we live
in. People who have this concept of our society also think the only job of
the government is to protect the liberties of the people, and is the sole
purpose of the Constitution to protect the rights of people from the
government (http://www.randomfate.net/hanlon/archives/2003_10.html).
Government does not tell
you as a person how you are to live your life but it does regulate business
and commerce. After all our revolution occurred partially because, we were
not represented in government over taxes. The United States revolution was
about having a voice or representation in government, how the minority voice
was made illegal, how businesses are regulated and taxed, it is not just
about personal freedom and responsibility.
In our form of
government, it is undisputed an individual is free to make bad choices, and
to be personally responsible for those choices under the confines of our
laws and constitution. We hold this moral value of personal responsibility
to a high standard. The values of personal responsibility does not stop at
the individual but must be applied with the same conditions and conviction
to any business, including Toughman, its owners and operators.
Toughman has the
responsibility to maintain to its best ability the safety of its
participants and to ensure that the information about the risks to the
participants are communicated and understood fully. A business can make bad
choices or even fail to meet its obligations just as an individual can.
When this occurs just as in the concept of personal responsibility, the
business, its owners and promoters must be held responsible for its actions,
choices, or when they knowingly dismiss safety precautions for profit at the
expense of its participants.
The Toughman
Contest®
is a product like any other product. When a product is overtly dangerous
our society responds with issuing a recall, ban them, or regulate them out
of the market. Those regulations are there to protect the individual from
dangerous products. If these regulations did not exist you would have toys
that kill our children, and cars that explode in a crash.
Toughman is known to lie
and misrepresent to its participants about doctors being present at all
their contest (http://www.ikfkickboxing.com/OpinionToughman.asp). They have
allowed minimal safety conditions, have allowed highly trained experienced
boxers into the ring, and have even participated in setting up extreme
mismatches for the purpose entertaining the crowd with a knockout.
In a 1996 deposition,
Terry Vermaelen stated that he had competed in 56 amateur fights and had won
three Louisiana Golden Gloves titles, and Toughman allowed him to compete
(The Wall Street Journal, August 25, 2003).
Several
deaths in the Toughman
competitions have lead to this need of regulation. Despite the deaths,
Amateur Boxing as a sport should always legal, but Toughman, a
business, needs to be held accountable and responsible for its outrageous
behavior in our free society.
The following information contained in the
website is strictly
opinion and should not be considered as fact. Citations are
given to you for you
own purpose and ability to come to your own conclusion. These
references will assist you in answering
the question for yourself. Remember you should always question the
perspective of what is being presented. |
