Kino no Tabi:Volume14 Chapter3
“Land of Regulations” — Unreal Young Man —[edit]
“Say… aren’t you that traveler Kino who arrived yesterday? I heard it from the radio!”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“I know standing around talking isn’t nice to look at, but please hear me out! It won’t take long. It’s about the injustice in this country.”
“Injustice?”
“Yes… Just last month, a law was passed in this country prohibiting ×××××. This ××××× was something we normally used to buy, but now it’s outlawed! Manufacture, sale, purchase, and even mere possession of it are no longer allowed! I was told to surrender all of my ×××××, which I bought with the money I worked hard for. If I refused, I will be arrested!”
“It has become strict all of a sudden?”
“Yes! Isn’t it crazy? We wanted to let travelers know about this to spread it to other countries. If visitors come and say how ‘strange’ it is, then the foolish politicians of this country might change their minds! The chances may be slim, but we cling on it.”
“I see.”
“Politicians and activists claim that ××××× will cause the destruction of humankind. That it ‘promotes misdeed’ and turns the youth unto evil, causing them to commit crimes! But ××××× have been common here for decades, no, for centuries even! Did everyone turn evil after all that time? Or became criminals? In the first place, even if they banned ×××××, crimes will not disappear!”
“Well that may be true.”
“Sure, maybe there are people who committed crimes upon being influenced by ×××××. The possibility may not be zero, but if they prohibit it for that reason, then they might as well forbid everything in this world! And ignore those whose lives are being enhanced by ×××××! At the end of the day, those who decided to outlaw ××××× did so only because they did not like it! Just because they hated it, it matters not to them if it gets banned. They don’t care about the people who benefits from it!”
“Uh-huh.”
“They are being inconsiderate of the ones who use ××××× sensibly! They don’t try to understand why we love or enjoy it. Instead, they convince themselves that we are despicable beings. If laws were made based on tastes just like that, then those based on human hobbies or preferences should not hold! Like those laws forbidding mustard because they were made by people who hate spicy foods. Or those laws banning the sale of honey simply because the legislator hated sweets!”
“Okay. I get your point.”
“Oh! Ah, I’m sorry for getting excited. I myself don’t want my country to be talked badly of. But please do spread the rumour about this foolish country that bans ××××× in this day and age! I beg you!”
“Sure… but there’s just one thing I would like to ask.”
“Anything! What is it?”
“When I arrived here, I was not allowed to come in with my motorrad and persuaders. And so I had no choice but to go around the country on foot, and unarmed to boot. Now, what can you say about the laws that banned these things?”
“That’s very simple! Motorrads are nothing but loud and dangerous vehicles, and persuaders are murdering tools that no good citizen should be allowed to touch! Majority of the people, including me, absolutely hate them!”
| Back to Chapter 2 | Return to Main Page | Forward to Chapter 4 |
