Quote:At the end of the day we are all grown-ups and part of that must mean taking responsibility for ones actionsI would like to think this is very much what this thread is about. I heard a very interesting Thought for today by Indarjit Singh the Sikh commentator - I will copy it up when it goes on the BBC website.
Quote:Thought for the Day, 9 March 2010
Indarjit Singh
A hospital in East London has introduced a new initiative to limit the amount of alcohol taken by pregnant women in an effort to reduce the danger of serious birth defects caused by excess drinking. A pregnant woman will be urged to have blood alcohol levels tested to give a picture of how much she has to drink while related urine tests could show evidence of occasional binge drinking.
The logic of such testing is faultless and some midwifes have welcomed the scheme. But other voices have expressed concern that it's an unnecessary intrusion into the privacy of responsible mothers-to-be; another example, as they put it, of the nanny state curbing the freedom of the majority to tackle an irresponsible minority. They could have a point. The downside of such measures is that they generally carry some degree of encroachment on personal freedom.
In some ways the use of such control measures is a bit like some supposed treatments for chronic physical ailments. They can often appear to be quite helpful, but sometimes they can also carry side effects not always immediately apparent.
For me, the most dangerous side effect of such imposed behaviour is that it nudges us away from a sense of personal responsibility and the importance of looking beyond ourselves to the needs of others - a central teaching of our different faiths. Guru Nanak was particularly concerned about such selfishness, and criticised those who abandoned their families to live in the wilderness in search of God. He told them that God was not to be found in the wilderness but in family life and the service of others. He also criticised those who took to drink or drugs to try to get away from the stresses of everyday life. In a memorable passage, he taught that serving God through looking to the needs of others gives a much more lasting sense of wellbeing than the consumption of any amount of insipid alcohol.
Laws and regulation have their uses in setting boundaries to unacceptable behaviour, but in themselves they do little to make us more responsible people. Speaking as a Sikh and keeping to the medical analogy, we should also consider the more holistic approach found in our different religions and reset our moral satnavs to a direction of more responsible living, not only for our own health, or that of the unborn child, but also of generations to come who will be affected by the priorities in life we chose for ourselves today.
copyright 2010 BBC
Hwoever, the essence, is do we take personal responsibility for out actions or do we rely upon a state/company enforced responsibility?
I would like to think of this as a wider debate.. rather than being seen as a right to take drugs.
For myself, I would come up clean on a drugs test, however, I would still object, given that this was random rather than based on a suspicion that I was taking drugs. If however, it was in my contract - and I had signed that contract, then I would have accepted these criteria. IF I have not signed up to this, or it was not in my original contract, and had been added without my acknowledgement and consent, I would object on principal, rather than a fear of failing.