A nation of idiots

We are a nation of victims. We never want to take the blame for anything that can easily be pinned on anyone else. \nCalling ourselves victims might be too nice a label to put on our collective self. We're actually more like idiots.\nWhy else would a Florida judge uphold the $145 billion damage award in the Florida smokers' trial?\nThis award is the biggest in the history of cigarette-related lawsuits, and it's amazing.\nBut it's not amazing because of the amount of money that will change hands. And it's not amazing because "Big Tobacco" has finally taken a big hit. This case is eye-opening because of the ignorance on both sides.\nTobacco companies have historically strolled through a minefield of lawsuits. They've stepped in the wrong place every now and then, but they're still rolling through that field and selling their product -- a product a U.S. surgeon general once said contained a substance that was as addictive as heroin or cocaine. A product that is one of the major causes of lung cancer in this country.\nI have a weird feeling that the idea of ethics at these tobacco industries is about as common as a blonde hair on my head.\nThese companies have a strange type of ignorance. It's called "selective ignorance." They basically choose what they want to know and what they don't want to know. For example, they know that money is good, but they have no clue why sick people are suing them.\nBut tobacco companies aren't the only ones claiming to be stupid. The people who sue the industry are complete idiots.\nI don't care what people say; they knew they were putting their health at risk. How could they not?\nThe big health hazard with smoking is in the name.\nSmoking … smoke.\nYou would think people could figure out the big problem with this particular habit. All it takes is about a second to identify that inhaling smoke is not good for you.\nDo people stand over a fire and take in the air? No. That's because breathing in smoke and passing out on some flames is not a very bright thing to do. It falls on the stupidity scale somewhere between putting aluminum foil in the microwave and trying to drink milk through your ear.\nPeople need to start taking the blame for their actions. Smoking is a voluntary action. No one took any of these people aside and made them smoke a pack of Lucky Strikes, unless they had a 1950s dad who caught them with a cigarette.\nThese people made a decision. They knew the consequences, and no court should ever reward people for making a bad choice.\nThe "victims" in this case do not deserve $145 billion.\nAnd they'll probably just take the checks, roll some tobacco with them and smoke some more. That might sound like a stupid thing to do, but why should they change now?\nOld habits are the hardest ones to kick, and stupidity puts up a heck of a fight.