Three Cheers for the Nanny State the Nannystate.” Have Already Read

Home , The Nanny, Welfare state

LIT17_SE08_U03_A2C_WC.indd 276 276 proficiently. complexity bandindependentlyand the highendofgrades 6–8text comprehend literary nonfictionat By theendofyear, readand Informational TextReading  Model Annotation First-Read Guideand public policy. issues ofpersonalchoiceand opinion piecesfocusingon articles,and essays, journal is theauthorofnumerous in Brunswick,Maine.She Philosphy at Bowdoin College of AssociateProfessor of Sarah Conly About the Author

STAN Tool Kit

UNIT 3•WHAT MATTERS MAKING MEANING NANNY STATE NANNY TH R EE CHEE EE D A holds the title holdsthetitle RD

S R S F OR THE THE read andcloseread activitiesfor“Three Cheersfor the sameissue.First, youwillcompletefirst selections thatpresent different argumentsabout In thislesson,youwillread andcompare two Comparing Texts opportunity tocompleteacloseread afteryourfirstread. Apply thesestrategiesasyouconductyourfirstread. You willhavean First ReadNONFICTION review yourratings.Markchangestooriginalrankingsasneeded. After completingyourfirstread, comebacktotheselectionvocabularyand to leastfamiliar(5). are witheachword. Then,rankthewords inorder from mostfamiliar(1) you willencounterthesewords. Before youread, ratehowfamiliaryou As youconductyourfirstread of“Three CheersfortheNannyState,” Concept Vocabulary Three Cheers for the Nanny State the NannyState.” have already read. already knowandwhatyou the selectiontowhatyou CONNECT Who the text. NOTICE isinvolved? status quo justifiable principle the generalideasof What rational impose W ideas within ORD isitabout? the selection. by writingabriefsummaryof the Comprehension Check and you wanttorevisit. vocabulary andkeypassages ANNOTATE RESPOND Y OUR • Sod BAN! THE • BAN

by marking R by completing ANKING

a ’ s

a pro b l e m b u t ...

Copyright © SAVVAS Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved. 2 1 3 1. W behave. create lawsandpoliciesthatattempttocontrol orinfluence howpeople social support,suchasfree healthcare orlow-income housing,butalso protection andwell-beingofitscitizens.Welfare statesoffer basic thattakesdirectwhich isamodelofgovernment responsibility for the The term“nannystate”isanegativenicknameforwelfare state, BACKGROUND and thishasbecome,incontemporary American politics,highly that sometimesweneedtobestoppedfrom doingfoolishstuff, would takeslightlymore effort. So,whyisthissuchabigdeal? soda astheywant.Thisisn’tProhibition. It’sjustthatgettingit large-size “sugarydrinks”? After all,peoplecanstillgetasmuch municipalities toplacelocalrestrictions onfoodordrink. earlier thismonthtopassabanonbans—alaw that forbids desire tobeleftalonethatprompted theMississippiLegislature told whattodo,andit’snotapositiveone.It’sthis common intervention inourdailylives,haveareflexive response tobeing cups ofsodaassymbolshumandignity?Really?) controversial, nomatterhowtrivialtheparticularissue.(Large

16 ounces in volume. The New York State Court of Appeals later overturned the law. the overturned later York Appeals of New Court State The 16 volume. in ounces ban soda Americans, eventhosewhogenerallysupportgovernment Obviously, it’snotaboutsoda.It’sbecausesuchabansuggests for the for the Cheers Three attempt to hy hasthere beensomuchfussaboutNew York City’s

In 2013, New York City passed a law prohibiting soda containers larger than than larger containers soda 2013,In prohibiting alaw York passed New City impose asodaban, Nanny State Nanny 1 ormore precisely, abanon Three Cheers fortheNannyState ANCHOR TEXT author doesnotanswer. mark thequestionsthat on thereader? do thesequestionshave CONCLUDE: QUESTION: ANNOTATE: CLOSE READ impose NOTES unanswered questions? the articlewithseveral the authorhavebegun authority on someonebyusing a law, idea,orbelief Sarah Conly

(im POHZ)

MULTIMEDIA OPINION PIECE Whymight In paragraph 1, In paragraph1, Whateffect SCAN FOR

v. v. force

31/10/19 9:34 PM 277 LIT17_SE08_U03_A2C_WC.indd 278 argument? the persuasivenessofher this informationaffect 278 status quo CONCLUDE: QUESTION: ANNOTATE: CLOSE READ justifiable rational NOTES principle reasonable andlogical defended ascorrect; particular time or conditionata n uh buhl) biases? explanations ofdifferent the authorincludethese describes. prejudices, theauthor bias 8–10, markthetypesof behave inacertainway influences individualsto about rightorwrong that moral ruleorsetofideas than emotion;sensible based onreason rather able tomakedecisions . existingstate

, orjudgmentsand UNIT 3•WHAT MATTERS

adj (RASH uhnuhl)

(PRIHN suhpuhl)

(juhs tuhFY (STAT uhskwoh) . abletobe Whydoes Inparagraphs Howdoes

adj

n .

. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 disasters, we’llendupwhere wewanttobe.It’sanicevision,one create agoodlife. Giveuscompleteliberty, and,barringnatural totally capableofmakingallthedecisionsweneedtoinorder to that makesusfeelproud ofourselves.Butit’sfalse. 3. 2. “cognitive which wefairlydependablyfail.Theycallsuchatendency research partner Amos Tversky, identified anumberofareas in including theNobelPrize-winnerDanielKahnemanandhis miscalculations. discovered isthatweare allprone toidentifiable andpredictable amount ofstudyoverthepastfewdecades,andwhathasbeen our ends.We makeerrors. This hasbeentheobjectofanenormous very clearlywhenitcomestochoosingthebestmeansattain to getthere. It’swellestablishedbynowthatweoften don’tthink good ideaofwhere wewant togo,butareally terribleideaofhow happen veryoften. wants toplummetintotheriver. Milljustdidn’tthinkthiswould a bridgethatisbroken, hesaid,becauseyoucanbesure noone we’ll pretty definitelyregret. You canstopsomeonefrom crossing argued, whenweare actingoutofignoranceanddoingsomething themselves want. affects onlythemselves,becausepeopleknowbestwhatthey we shouldalmostneverstoppeoplefrom behaviorthat prevent harmtoothers. “harm According toMill’s reason forinterferinginsomeone’sfreedom ofactionwasto Because ofour“present bias,”whenweneedtotakeasmall,easy any particularreason, butbecausewe’re irrationallyoptimistic. people inoursituation,it’slesslikelytohappenus—notfor to thinkthathoweverlikelyabadthingishappenmost which ourownmindstripusup. already gotit—whichmight,ofcourse,makeusreact badlyto what we’vealready gotoverthealternatives,justbecausewe’ve we’ve decidedit’sabadidea,butbecauseweprocrastinate. step tobringaboutsomefuture good, wefailtodoit,notbecause

cognitive Mill Stuart John We haveavisionofourselvesasfree, John StuartMill Research bypsychologists andbehavioraleconomists, Mill waswrong aboutthat,though. A lotoftimeswehavea That “almost,”though,isimportant.It’sfairtostopus,Mill For example,wesuffer from anoptimismbias,thatiswetend We alsosuffer from a

(KOG tihv) nih 3 bias,”andthere are manyofthem—alotwaysin

(1806–1873) British philosopher. 2 wrote in1859thattheonly adj. related to related thinking. status quo bias,whichmakesusvalue rational justifiable beingswhoare principle

,”

Copyright © SAVVAS Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved. 11 17 16 15 14 13 12 us totakeintherelevant informationandchooseaccordingly. It’s we’ve got. And there are more. new laws,evenwhentheyare really animprovement overwhat 5. 4. PBS NewsHour making youeatyourbroccoli, flossyourteeth,andwatch today it’ssoda,tomorrow it’stheguystandingbehind you it’s anabsoluteloss.It’sjustnotmuchofa desire forhealth,thatresults inanetgain.Forsomepeople,yes, something westandtolosehere. Formostpeople,giventheir by laws. to whenweagree toliveinademocraticsocietythat isgoverned aren’t practical.Givingup alittlelibertyissomethingweagree laws asthepeoplewhocan’t,becauseindividualspeeding can drivesafelyat90milesperhour, butwe’re boundbythesame laws aren’t designedforeach oneofusindividually. Someofus ways ithurtstobepartofasocietygovernedbylaws,giventhat doing whattheyreally wanttodo?Probably—and yes,inmany inconvenience some. that publicbenefitisalegitimateconcern,evenwhen thatmay doesn’t meanlawsshouldtrampletherightsofminority, but big sodas,ortheyjustreally lovehavingalotofsodaatonce. care thatmuchabouttheirhealth,ortheywon’tdrinktoomany of soda?No.Forsomepeople,that’stherightchoice.Theydon’t imprudent, when,inthiscase,apersonchoosestochug32ounces need help. Like theguyabouttostepthrough theholeinbridge,we out thatourmindsare more complicatedthanMillimagined. not quitethesimpleignoranceMillwastalkingabout,butitturns to goaerobics everydayandgiveupallmeat,sugarsalt? need foraffordability andthe desire forsafety. sets automobileconstruction standards whileconsideringboththe something thegovernmenthasresources todo,justasnowit if it’stoopainful,notagoodlaw. Makingtheseanalysesis paternalistic

parent. paternalistic PBS NewsHour Of course,whatpeoplefearisthatthisjustthebeginning: The freedom tobuyareally large soda,allinonecup,is So dotheselawsmeanthatsomepeoplewillbekeptfrom But lawshavetobesensitivetheneedsofmajority. That Is italwaysamistakewhensomeonedoessomething The crucial pointisthatinsomesituationsit’sjustdifficult for Do wecare somuchaboutourhealththatwewanttobeforced

5 (puh tuhr nuh LIHS tihk) tihk) LIHS nuh tuhr (puh lawsare doneonthebasis ofacost-benefitanalysis:

television news program in the United States. United the in program news television 4 everyday. Whatthisignores isthatsuccessful adj. protective, but controlling; in the manner of a of manner the in controlling; but protective, Three Cheers fortheNannyState argument? affect theauthor’s inclusion ofthisexample ANNOTATE: CLOSE READ NOTES CONCLUDE: QUESTION: author usestosupport 14, marktheexample support? this specific exampleas the authorhavechosen her claim. Whymight Inparagraph Howdoesthe

31/10/19 9:34 PM

279 LIT17_SE08_U03_A2C_WC.indd 280 280 NOTES

UNIT 3•WHAT MATTERS 18 19 have nolawswhatsoever. grounds thatitmightleadtoworselawswouldmeanwecould No. Butinthiscase,it’ssomeextrasoda.Banningalawonthe there’s nodignityinclingingtoanillusion. We feelasif welosesomedignity. Butthat’sthewayitis,and It’s hard togiveuptheideaofourselvesascompletelyrational. irritating asitmayinitiallyfeel,thesodaregulation isagoodidea. That’s whywehaveprescriptions formedicine. And that’swhy, as sometimes, where thecostsare smallandthebenefitislarge, itis. where wewanttogo.It’snotalwaysworthitintervene,but help oneanother. inheritance. Theproper reaction isnotblame,butanimpulseto aren’t afunctionofbadcharacter, butofourshared cognitive deserved tosuffer theconsequences.Nowweseethattheseerrors and saythatsincetheirbadchoiceswere theirownfault,they That’s whatthegovernmentissupposedtodo,helpusget In theolddaysweusedtoblamepeopleforactingimprudently,

❧

Copyright © SAVVAS Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved. Complete thefollowingitemsafteryoufinishyourfirstread. Check Comprehension about the conceptabout of the “nanny state.” Research to Explore Research to Clarify Research RESEARCH 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. aspect of the text? aspect of research that detail. what In way the information does you learned shed light an on

According totheauthor, whatwillmostpeoplegainfrom thesodaban? new law? According totheauthor, whatdopeoplefeartheywillloseasaresult ofthe What isa“cognitivebias”? What newlawwasproposed inNewYork City?

Notebook

Write asummaryof“Three CheersfortheNannyState.”

Choose unfamiliar at one least Briefly detail from the text.

Write aresearch that question you might to use find out more Three Cheers fortheNannyState

31/10/19 9:34 PM 281