The Cost of Freedom - Student Drug Testing

On Fox’s “Cashin’ In” Saturday morning business program, the issue of a New Jersey school district’s drug testing policy was debated. Tracy Burns, a commentator who portrays herself as a hard-nosed free market advocate and protector of personal freedom, took a dive in this fight; but of course, it was for the children.

Her comments support the assertion that government intrusion is ok for “safety.” In this case the Belvidere School Board voted to extend a voluntary drug screening program from high school to middle school. It is voluntary in the sense that students and parents have to give consent for the student to be placed in a pool of testable students who are then randomly selected. Tracy thought that this is a great idea because it’s a safety issue and it concerns children. She appears incapable of seeing how this conflicts with freedom from government. She doesn’t consider the impact of conditioning for children who are volunteers and what they will later think: “What’s wrong with this? I did it. What’s the harm in it being mandatory?”

Even though it is voluntary, is it necessary for me to give examples that government has a way of expanding its scope? Tracy attests to this every week on the show but closes her eyes here. Tracy is always concerned about the government “stealing” our money, but she fails to connect the dots as to how this government board will pay for the program; including the counseling and drug rehab center placement. Tracy advocates “personal responsibility,” but wants a government body to do the job that a parent can do with a hair sample, lab, and the Post Office. Tracy wants to act as though it’s reasonable to surrender freedom for safety and that the government wants to limit its power. Therefore according to Tracy’s views, she is a hypocrite when she argues against the bank, auto manufacturer, and pension bailouts because those government actions have everything to do with economic security. She is a hypocrite when she argues against more business regulation because it is done in the name of financial security, and she is a hypocrite when she argues against the expansion of government surveillance and intrusion because of the security necessary to fight the war on terror.

With freedom advocates like Tracy, the government will continue to expand its power, reduce your freedom, and walk right through the gap left by Tracy who told us she was manning the wall.