They are all around us, those little indicators of how the dumbing down of America has made the population totally dependent upon the heavy hand of government. We are not being oppressed. We are begging, pleading, even demanding that government come in and do it to us!
I'm not bashful about my love of good food and fine restaurants. I was not born into wealth. I didn't inherit more than it that it took to provide my parents a reasonably respectful funeral and interment. I've worked for my education, my profession, my home, my cars, my belongings. And, when I spend my money on dinner and wine, that is my business.
I've traveled for a day or two by car, train and plane to dine at a renowned restaurant. I've had the incredible pleasure of experiencing what a Michelin three-star establishment offers. I've done it a couple of dozen times.
I don't go to eat. I go to dine. I don't eat out three times a week, or three times a month. I may make a restaurant excursion once every three months or I could take a long weekend twice a year and hit three or four special places in a cluster of gastronomic excess. But it's my bloody business and don't you dare to try to impose limits or restrictions on my enjoyment.
New Yorkers Want Parking Meters on Restaurant Tables
This is a society in which they consider their privilege more important than mine. They don't want to wait. They want me to move along and get out of their way. They want government to impose a regulation. They want to arbitrarily impose a standard on how fast I should consume my meal. They want to restrict how long I can enjoy an interesting conversation. They want me to swill the last of my wine rather than savoring it. They want me to forego a desert or a cognac if my time is expired on the government's meter.
Probably most offensively, they seem to forget that the restaurant they want regulated is a free-market, private enterprise. If the proprietor wants to move people through for volume sales, that is what he will do and then I will choose freely whether or not to patronize the establishment.
But it is not government's decision how long I linger. It is not the pushy New Yorker's decision. It is mine and the restaurateur's choice.
3 comments:
I wonder, though, if some of the restauranteurs are secretly lobbying for this, seeking to increase their table turn, while saving face - "Hey, we're not running you out, it's the law."
Just a thought.
I see a difference though between fine dining where the meal is the evening's event and a more common restaurant. Our regular Sunday after church breakfast place sometimes gets inundated with folks who sit there for an extended time having completed their meal sipping coffee while the line for tables goes out the door. While I understand the frustration exhibited in the article, once again I don't think more regulation is the answer. People should realize that the world does not revolve around them, and act responsibly towards others. Take your time enjoy your meal and when done, if folks are waiting, leave.
Well said.
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