After tossing my primary ballot in the trash a month ago, I was able to delay the wonderful feeling that comes from voting and then watching as the returns show that just about everything I voted for lost. Oh well, I'm used to it. There is however a good mix of good and bad news to cover in an election year that most people didn't know about.
Good News:
People get to change laws instead of courts. Even if the law is completely stupid, you got what you wanted instead of some court telling you that your constitution has really meant something else all along but no one knew it until they so wisely discovered it.
Bad News:
People still vote to limit freedom.
Thomas Paine wrote: (by the way he was a founding father for you blue state elitists and hillbilly red staters)
"Society is produced by our wants, and government by our wickedness; the former promotes our happiness POSITIVELY by uniting our affections, the latter NEGATIVELY by restraining our vices. The one encourages intercourse, the other creates distinctions. The first is a patron, the last a punisher." My emphasis added.
When people vote to limit freedom it is generally because they've mistaken the role of society and government. Society governs a great deal without the need for a law. Remember, by passing a law you're saying that offenders, if they persist, will come up against an organized force (police with guns).
My dumb state is so mixed up that a person will have to be caught stealing a car several times before jail time is even a consideration...but if this car thief smokes indoors then he faces the wrath of our new law passed on Tuesday.
It's very easily forgotten that everytime we pass laws that are unenforceable we dilute the rule of law making the job of the police impossible. This is why the enforcement of many laws is arbitrary. (Consider that the next time you get a ticket when you're driving with the flow of traffic)
I'm sure most of you blue staters didn't read this far because I mentioned laws and a founding father and that is usually enough to shoo you away...likewise you red staters probably didn't get past the first paragraph because of the long words. If you've read this far you probably consider yourself neither.
That alone is the only good news.
3 comments:
Correctamundo!
This is why sodomy laws are misguided.
They cannot be enforced but arbitrarily therefore they degrade the credibility of all laws. What some conservatives forget is that laws, as much as taxes, interfere with the lives of citizens.
Very good post. I can't remember if I am a blue stater or a red stater because I can't remember which stands for which.
I agree about the law issue. Where I live no one obeys even the simplest traffic laws such as stop when the light is red. Two or three cars run every red light. The cops do nothing about it. The funny thing is that there is very little crime in this city so I'm really not sure what the police is doing otherwise. Maybe there's a really good donut shop around . . . Anyway, this was kind of a pointless response to your excellent post.
And I have bad grammar today. Apologies.
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