In the ’90s, the United States saw big business take a hit after years of selling “deadly” products to the American public.

Lawsuits became the way to tell a business, or even an industry, that the public will not stand for hurting the innocent in order to make a profit.

At least that’s what trial lawyers and anti-business left-wingers want you to think.

It started with big tobacco. The evildoers, such as Philip Morris, took hit after hit when citizens and different levels of our government decided to lift the responsibility from the smokers and pass it off to the tobacco companies in the form of lawsuits.

The trend then worked its way into the gun industry. It was suddenly the manufacturers’, rather than the assailants’, fault that people had been shot.

The anti-responsibility trend has continued. The fast-food industry is now being sued for making people fat.

According to a Sept. 10 article in The Washington Times, the parents of three teenagers filed a class-action lawsuit in New York against McDonald’s Corp., claiming the fast food chain caused the teenagers to gain 200 pounds and develop heart disease and diabetes.

The lawsuit claims McDonald’s lies about the nutritional information it posts and uses deceptive advertising to lure in customers.

The teenagers’ lawyer, Samuel Hirsch, said his clients ate at McDonald’s on a daily basis for about five years.

“We feel that the advertising strategies [of quick-service chains] target young children,” he said in the article. “Toy promotions and Happy Meals are a lethal combination.”

Sure it is, when eaten on a daily basis.

Believe it or not, there is more than one group of people in this country that blames fast-food companies for their bad eating habits.

In July, Caesar Barber decided to take on the entire industry, not just McDonald’s. He filed a lawsuit against McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC and Wendy’s – four of the largest fast-food chains in the world.

Barber has been eating at the restaurants since the 1950’s. He blames the industry for two heart attacks, diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure.

Conservatives have been warning of this for years. We said it when the tobacco companies were sued. We said it when the gun companies were sued.

Our country has let go of the idea of personal responsibility. Americans want to blame the rich for our problems. We feel we are entitled to part of their wealth.

Look at the suit filed by the teenagers. These kids ate at McDonald’s every day. Of course that will make you fat.

But there was a trial lawyer who saw a multi-million dollar suit he might be able to profit from.

Team that up with some idiot parents who made horrible decisions for their children and you have yourself a lawsuit.

Now make McDonald’s out to be an evil corporation that knows it is poisoning the public and take a left-wing activist judge and we have a victory for irresponsibility.

But our laziness, accompanied by this anti-business attitude, has taken over. Now who is going to pay the bill? We, the consumers, will. Is that justice?

Because these parents were idiots and fed their kids this crap every day, their children have serious health problems.

Who’s fault is that? Should McDonald’s have said, “You are getting too fat. We can’t serve you.”?

No, if anybody should face up to their wrongdoings, it is the parents. That’s who made those kids obese.

As for Barber, the guy ate that stuff for more than 40 years – it is common-sense understanding that fast food is not good for you. If you are going to eat it, exercise. It is that simple.

If these people beat the fast food industry, count on seeing lawsuits against any company who makes products that are not good for you.

Next up – Sport Utility Vehicle manufacturers.

Zach

Calef

is a junior in apparel

merchandising, production and design from Cedar Rapids. He is a member of the Daily’s editorial board.