Straws

An observation attributed, perhaps inaccurately, to Yogi Berra: “you can observe a lot by watching.”

It is hard to argue with that. It is also true that sometimes you can observe something useful by paying attention to things which, on the surface, seem too silly to be worth watching. In the last couple of weeks some  politicians and  self-styled  activists have  been on a crusade against plastic straws. Governments in several cities have banned the things (with at least one making offering a person one a jailing offense), and a sorry troupe of weak kneed corporate executives  at Marriott, Disney, and other outfits have taken the pledge and promised that lips that touch straws will never touch theirs.

The natural first reaction is to write or laugh this off as just one more absurdity of a fairly mad world.  No sensible person cares what sort of straw his neighbor drinks through. But there are plenty of obnoxious  busybodies  who seem to live to force their puritanical  desires of the moment on  their fellow citizens without regard to fact, cost, or anyone’s rights. They flit from cause to cause and sometimes get what they want from obliging officials.  It may be that the poor plastic straw industry is  the more or less randomly selected target of the day and  one unlucky enough to be hit with a bullseye. This could just be  a case of what Governor Lepetomane came up with next. There is always that. 

However there could be more to it. The idea of taking to the barricades or passing laws  over somebody sipping a coke or  latte through a straw belongs in a low farce or an  over the top political satire.  Even a few months ago  people would have hooted at the suggestion it might happen. Yet  politicians have embraced and acted on this one quickly and strongly. It is worth guessing why.  It could be that its absurdity is one of the things leftist politicians find attractive about it. If your  purpose requires getting people in the habit of obedience, forcing something on them that both you and they know makes no sense and has the potential to annoy  them to boot can make a lot of sense.