Money for Nothing

The latest buzz is on all the biker email lists. "Contact your legislator!"

The reason for the clamor is Senator Lautenberg (D-NJ), who is sponsoring legislation to blackmail states into passing helmet laws. The kicker is that the "incentive" for states will be motorcycle safety funds.

Many bikers are outraged that the government would use "our money" against us. After all, the motorcycle safety funds are supposed to be used only for motorcycle safety, right? But motorcycle safety is in the eye of the beholder. And for those in power, motorcycle safety means mandatory helmet laws.

The rationale for motorcyclist support of this funding is to demonstrate we're responsible riders. And responsible riders ought to be able to say where the money goes, as well as have a greater amount of control over laws affecting us.

This is not only wrong-headed thinking. It's foolish.

When we surrender our money to the government, we also surrender our rights. By giving them money, we give them control. Despite our best intentions (really, wishful thinking), government isn't going to do what's in our best interest. Government will do what's in their best interest. And they're interested in controlling us, whether we like it or not.

The real fallacy is what is commonly referred to as the "good little biker syndrome." This is the flawed belief that we can restore our rights by demonstrating that we're responsible adults.

But politics don't work this way. Politics is all about power. Those that have it make the rules. Those that don't must live by someone else's rules. And that's exactly where we find ourselves today.

The key to political power is to control the outcome of elections. Only then will legislators have an incentive to listen to us. All the pleading, statistics, and logic in the world cannot overcome political power.

This is why bikers must stop begging for their rights, and start getting good at winning elections for biker-friendly candidates. Put another way, if you are on the campaign trail, you're on the road to freedom. If you're going anywhere else, you're on a dead end.

By all means, call your legislators and let them know what you think. But be sure to let them know you're also a campaign volunteer. Otherwise they'll have no reason to pay you one bit of attention.