2008 Soap Box Archives

Where Does It Stop?

Some time ago a Mr. David Williams of Indiana sued a gambling casino for letting him lose money to them. Can you believe it?

I wonder if Mr. Williams thought that the casinos were in business to let people win. How does he think they keep the doors open? Why would they keep building more and more of them?

Who twisted his arm and made him put his money down?

I'll admit that it's a crying shame that Mr. Williams lost what was most likely his life's savings but to blame it on the casino?

This is just another example of people simply not accepting responsibility for their own actions.

Do we make the liquor stores responsible for problem drinking? The fast food shops responsible for obesity? Society liable for nervous breakdowns?

Can we sue the sun for causing skin cancer?

I'm certainly not taking the side of the gaming industry, but just because they exist is no reason for someone to blame them for their losses. If you go into a casino and stay there long enough you're going to lose.

I know they show you the pictures of the people who won a million dollars on one pull of a slot machine handle, but where do you think that million dollars came from.

Out of the pockets of other suckers, that's where it came from. I hear the term "compulsive gambler" and I have no doubt that these people exist, but I don't believe that everybody who loses money on a blackjack table is a compulsive gambler.

If someone is a compulsive gambler they are going to lose their money whether in a fancy casino or a back alley crap game and they need help.

When are we going to wake up to the fact that each person has been given free will to choose what they want to do? Why is it so hard to realize that the blame belongs to the individual?

After all that's what America is all about, freedom to speak, to express our opinions, to use our lives for productive reasons or to throw it away on drugs, to use our money to make a better life for our families, or to waste it in casinos.

You can't beat a casino. Very rarely will you ever walk out winning. They aren't designed for that. They could never stay in business if everybody won.

When you walk into a gaming establishment, you may as well look at it as you would if you were going to a ball game or a movie. It's entertainment, and you're going to have to pay for it.

Any other attitude is irresponsible.

Pray for our troops.

What do you think?

God Bless America

Charlie Daniels

 

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