To the Editor:
Your editorial about the new dietary icon (“What Do You See on Your Plate Today?,” June 4) tells us, “The new icon captures what you see when you look down to eat (assuming you’re not eating from a takeout carton, which would be far worse), and it turns that view into a simple, comprehensible reminder of what should be there.”
This is a good example of government intrusion by stealth. What “should” be there depends on your goals. And not everyone has the same goals. Someone wanting to lose weight should be eating differently from someone trying to put it on.
Someone eating for enjoyment should be eating differently from someone unconcerned with enjoying his or her food. And anyone who is approaching death should eat whatever he or she wants.
One size does not fit all, and diversity in tastes should be given its due.
WILLIAM VAUGHAN Jr.
Chebeague Island, Me., June 4, 2011
Note from KBJ: To the progressive mind, ordinary people (meaning those who are not progressive) are incapable of running their lives. They need supervision, guidance, and sometimes coercion from their betters. What supposedly justifies this is beneficence; but it undermines autonomy. How are people to learn from their mistakes if they are not allowed to make mistakes?
Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D. 