Just recently got home from a trip down to Jamaica and was getting ready to do a series on all things Jamaica. A few restaurant reviews, reviews of some day trip attractions, and maybe even a trip report.
One of the things I was going to comment on in these articles was how Jamaica is a place where there is still personal responsibility. Nobody is going to stop you from being an idiot so it's up to you to have some personal responsibility. Attractions don't have guard rails, there's no smoking bans, and basically you just have to be responsible for your own actions.
Don't get me wrong, I love the USA, and I'm not advocating no rules in society. I'm glad we have food safety standards as I don't want to worry every time I eat whether I'm going to get e-coli from fruits and vegetables or worms in my gut from eating bad meat.
I'm glad we have product standards so I don't have to worry about my motorcycle wheel comming off as I'm cruising down the highway at 80 m.p.h., and I'm glad we have traffic laws and drinking and driving laws so I don't have to worry about being hit by other idiot motorists.
What I don't enjoy however are smoking bans, trans fat bans, and laws like New York's recently proposed law targeting distracted walkers. This law would make it a crime to cross the street while on a cellphone or listening to a music device. Hell, the City of Chicago is even proposing banning cars from the roads in the Loop...I thought cars were the reason we have roads but apparently I was mistaken.
I'm all for laws that protect you and me from other idiots but we shouldn't protect idiots from themselves. I agree with drunk driving laws as a drunk should be able to kill themselves if they want but they shouldn't be able to kill you or I. I disagree however with seatbelt laws. Why should we have to protect people from themselves, same with motorcycle helmet laws. We aren't protecting anyone from others, we are protecting stupid people from their own decisions.
I digress though. The main point of this thread is that one of the great things about Jamaica is that personal responsibility still exists. When you go to one of the many waterfalls they have their are no guard rails nor are there rules about where you can or cannot go. You need to know your abilities and decide for yourself what is safe and what isn't. This is the same situation for other activities such as jumping from the cliffs on the West End of Negril.
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