Of course, what we all must do...

...are the 7 words that are the most likely to have me spluttering into my Assam. Usually heard on breakfast TV eminating from some earnest, concerned individual who's trying to ram their way of thinking down our throats and tell us that we must all change for the good of something or other.

Global warming, eating the Right foods, no more flying, watching what we drink, television advertising, having a healthier lifestyle, breast versus bottle feeding, childhood obesity - the possibilities are endless.

The TV seems to be full of people who pop up and lecture us on what is the "right" way to live. Presented as fact, not opinion and ALWAYS, at some point, including the immortal phrase "Of course, what we all must do...". Note the patronising "Of course" - this is all self-evident when you're intellectually superior, but we must make it clear for the little people. Then "what we all must..." - no argument here, this isn't just an opinion, I'm damn well right and you MUST all do as I say. Or you'll die, or your children will be fat, or you'll become a burden on the state, or you'll be personally responsible for flooding Vanuatu.

The new and worrying trend, though, is that these individuals are starting to represent official bodies and influence government policy - usually demanding new or more stringent legislation, taxes, or both. So, we have the Police telling us what the law should be, the BMA demanding more tax on alcohol and the enviromentalists telling us that we can't buy Fairtrade coffee any more, because it has to be transported to us and as a result the polar bears are dying.

We seem to have arrived at a society where the legislative and tax systems are used, not to go about the legitimate business of government, but to define and enforce an "approved" lifestyle. It strikes me, for example, as morally questionable for the state to dictate what type of lightbulbs we MUST use on the grounds of "saving" the planet.

As the boy Peart once said;

"Quiet in conscience, calm in their right, confident their ways are best...those who know what's best for us, must rise and save us from ourselves".