As a member of Generation X, I've found a reliable way to spook Gen Z-ers: stories of the bad old days of my youth, specifically the era of indoor smoking. Some of you will remember this: Homes, cars, restaurants, bars, college classrooms and even high schools pretty much let smokers have their way with the commonly shared air. Those of us who spent our nights in bars and clubs reeked of tobacco smoke all the time, even if we didn't actually smoke. Our hair and our clothes permanently emanated that distinctive sour odor of it. Bans on indoor smoking were controversial at first, but when they finally arrived, it was something like seeing in color for the first time. The world, it turned out, is a lot more pleasant when you can smell things other than the reek of cigarette smoke. Going back to indoor smoking sounds about as much fun as having someone follow you around dragging their fingernails down a chalkboard all day long.
This is so self-evident that most Republicans I know agree personally, despite belonging to a political party whose guiding ethos is to be deliberately unpleasant in hopes of getting a rise out of some liberal somewhere. Even people who think Fox News host Greg Gutfeld is funny have enough sense to know that it sucks to smell like an ashtray sucks. Or at least I thought they did.
