It seems that imposing restriction has come to represent the solution to our nation's problems. Some believe in restricting what is on television and the internet, others believe in restricting what we eat, and some even want to restrict our behavior. There are so many laws, rules, and regulations that it is impossible to enforce even a small percentage of them. For the last few decades we have been piling on the restriction, but has it really done anything to solve our nation's problems? As we continue to add more restriction, our problems continue to grow. We have become so engrossed in what and what not to restrict that we have lost sight of what should be most important, responsibility.

I hear people talking about restricting some of what we see on television, and to be honest most times I wouldn't care if these things were gone, but what about discussing being a responsible parent and not letting our children have access to these things? We put cable TV in our children's bedroom, yet want someone else to be responsible for the content. Same thing with the internet, many parents allow their children private access to the internet, then want to restrict what's on it. We'll talk about creating more rules and restriction, but little or nothing gets said about taking more responsibility. More restriction is the easy path and only encourages irresponsibility. What motivation is there to be responsible if somebody else will do it?

There are times where restriction can punish those who are responsible. For a long time now we have been fighting the war on fats in our diet, yet we still have an obesity problem. The question begs to be asked, was it the fats that were causing the problem or was it the irresponsible behavior of eating too much of them along with a lack of exercise? When we eat, the best flavor possible should be available. If one person can eat it responsibly, should he or she be punished because another can't? All this has done is punish the responsible person and the irresponsible one has gone on to eat too much of something else.

It seems to me that there should be less focus on restricting what we do and more focus on being responsible with what we do. We have tried to solve problems with restriction for far too long now; it is time to try something different. Restriction is the same as problem management. It will bring some statistics that make us feel better, but will do little or nothing to solve anything. Responsibility is certainly a harder route, but it must become our focus. If people really want to do something, restriction will rarely stop them. Lets at least be sure they are doing it responsibly.