Europe is too much of a soft touch

[Britkid]

If I was a hundred percent sure it was the right person I probably would. As far as the government using torture, if you could guarantee me they had the right person and could save lives I'd be all for torture. Unfortunately, I don't have the faith government will get it right. For the same reason I'm against the death penalty, the government does convict the innocent plus I don't think the government should have the power to take life. It just seems to me britkid, and I say this with respect as you are obviously not an idiot, but you have too much faith in government. I think communism and socialism invest more power in the government which I don't see as a good thing.

I don't know if you've read it across the pond but the past mayor of New York actually outlawed large sized soda and certain saturated fats in NYC. That to me is a travesty, what is worse is this idiot Bloomberg was 're elected. That in itself should be considered an abuse of power. Damn, that one pisses me off.

I struggle to have faith with the Government, hence my want for ultimately micro governance through direct democracy.

But the examples you gave are two good reasons for state control. There is an obesity problem in the Developed world, the size of drinks in the UK are ridiculously big, so banning them would make sense. Also in the use of certain saturated fats; particularly when in the UK the state pays long term for your healthcare, there does need to be a personal responsibility to look after yourself, at least to a basic level, and if you cannot do that then the state does need to get involved.

But I do recognize a lot of Americans have a different outlook on these things, and indeed I would be very naive to think my general views are anywhere near a majority in the UK, indeed, that they are are even on the mainstream political landscape.