Laws and Responsibility

Back in the day when I served in the state legislature, I often remarked in my speeches that the six most dangerous words in Ohio are “there ought to be a law…” We are over-lawed (new word?). In other words we have too many laws. What we need are accountability and responsibility. If you hurt someone or their property because you were negligent or intentionally destructive, then you should be held accountable. As an example, if you’re texting, drinking or under the influence of prescription drugs and you crash into another car, you should be charged with negligence and failure to maintain control.

Why is it necessary to have traffic laws that ban driving while drinking, driving while texting or any number of potential distractions or performance degraders? If they are necessary, we should include driving while drinking coffee or eating. We might also include shaving or applying makeup as tasks that should be prohibited while one is operating a motor vehicle. There are even more activities that could or should be banned while driving such as reading, talking to a passenger, adjusting the radio or CD player, or picking one’s nose. I have witnessed every one of these distracting behaviors while driving. It isn’t pretty out there, folks.

Obviously as the clever readers you are, you have discerned that I am disturbed by the proliferation of laws that our legislators and regulators have thrust upon us. It is a common practice among despotic or totalitarian governments to pass numerous laws so that nearly every citizen breaks some of them and then selectively enforce them. This bi-polar approach causes the populace to be fretful and fearful but allows the leaders to dole out favorable treatment for friendly elites. For example you may be charged for munching on an Egg McMuffin while pursuing your morning commute, but the police may have strict orders to ignore the Assistant to the Associate Deputy Secretary of Secretarial Assistants when she rabidly consumes a bowl of Frosted Mini Wheats while scampering down the freeway at 20 mph above the legal limit. Lots of laws create a maze of regulatory tape that is impossible to navigate without violating one or more of them…that is “soft tyranny.” The government doesn’t throw you in the clink for no reason, but they do create a multitude of trip wires to legitimize your incarceration.

Paranoia is not a typical condition for me, but the profusion of laws, rules and regulations that impact our behavior, our commerce and our daily lives have caused me to become extremely skeptical about our government’s commitment to individual liberty. For now…if we violate a number of the “gotcha” regulations, we are fined. If enough people systematically fail to follow the proscribed rules, it seems probable that harsher penalties may be employed. There are so many fronts where Big Government is attacking the people that this one may seem trivial, but it can lead to hard tyranny as the government and its big-government supporters and enablers seek to wield control---for our own good….of course.

Too many laws lead to confusion, so why not streamline the criminal code to identify the broad categories of unacceptable activity. The penalties, if any, could be based on outcomes rather than law enforcement personnel seeking to interdict every potential violator. If you drive and you harm someone or their property while negligently distracted, you must pay restitution, fines and jail time if appropriate for the offense and the damage. It shouldn’t matter what activity led to the negligent distraction. It’s the result of the negligence that generates the penalty. As someone who cherishes my liberty, I resent the nitpicking package of laws and regulations that have invaded our lives. As someone who believes strongly in accountability and responsibility as necessary for citizenship, my resistance to the plethora of controlling rules grows greater every day. The Nanny State mentality has drifted from our social welfare policies into law enforcement. It sickens me.

It has been thirty years since I first began uttering the line about “there ought to be a law.” Given the nature of our ineffective, inefficient and dominating government today, those six words may not be the worst…the most evil. They are still noxious and still toxic. We have too many laws. We have too many constraints on our freedom. We must be responsible for our actions, our behavior and our stupidity. When the law becomes too complex, it can become abusive. Liberal progressive socialist busybodies love laws because they narrow the parameters of our liberty. The lefties assume that we are too stupid to live without the benign intervention of the government. They do not yet realize that we may be too angry to live with it.

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Homecoming

As I begin preparing for the return trip to Northwest Ohio, I am reminded of how important “homecomings” are. No matter where we travel or what we do, for most of us coming home evokes intense emotion. The comfort, familiarity and security we find at home allow us to function more freely without fear. Our surroundings, no matter how modest, and the people we know so well provide us with the solid assurance that things will be “OK.” Warriors fight more ferociously to protect the homeland when facing invaders. Mothers resemble angry bears when their homes are in danger. Home is a special place that we hold dear.

Going home suggests that we are returning to a private place with its own social structure and culture. Home is unique. While it may share a number of attributes with other households, it remains different. When I was born near the middle of the 20^th Century, the progressive undermining of our nation was well underway. It’s most corrosive elements had not yet penetrated into the often maligned “fly-over country.” The reach and grasp of an out-of-control government had not tickled the consciousness of our hardy Midwesterners. Certainly some were alarmed and warned the others, but our hard-working, somewhat idyllic lives seemed to be unaffected by those rascally politicians and their madcap schemes. Yes, there were jokes about bombastic politicians and sleazy ones, too, but most of us were not seriously concerned that our nation would stumble. Our ignorance, our apathy has proven to be costly.

While we labored for sustenance and sought prosperity, the foundations of our country were eroding. Some of the changes were welcome and past due. The abolition of Jim Crow laws and the partial shattering of the glass ceiling were significant. Our lives were changed, but adjustments were easily made. On the other hand “American Idol,” “Dancing with the Stars” and “Jackass” reek of a culture and society that has been debased. As someone who loves every facet of personal liberty, I’m not particularly concerned about individuals who act shallowly as long as they accept responsibility for their actions. My fear is that irresponsibility has become too pervasive in our nation. I detect echoes of the Roman bread and circuses as we meander through our daily lives. As someone who embraces liberty, I fear that too many in our nation have no respect or desire for responsible self-disciplined freedom.

The cup of liberty is precious and shouldn’t be handled so cavalierly that it is spilled. Each drop of freedom has been purchased by those who chafed under oppressive regimes. As I survey our land, I wonder if we are capable and willing to repurchase our natural heritage. Perhaps we have become too distracted by our games and frivolous pursuits to hunker down to the task of securing liberty. It’s possible that we are too irresponsible to hold on to freedom if we are fortunate enough to grasp it again. Even among those who appear to be serious about the status of our nation, we find many of them focused on the little things…the symptoms rather than the roots. Rarely do I hear the people calling for liberty. Instead, many have their pet policy that they seek to change. That is not enough for it substitutes one form of tyranny for another.

Homecomings should be grand occasions. As we settle into the glowing warmth of home, we should know that all is right, and all will be well. The uneasiness we experienced while away should be banished by the familiar comfort of home. Home, as we remember it, however, is no longer there. It has been replaced by short-term avarice and irresponsible behavior. Home is but a memory…an ideal…that has melded into the mists of time. Home is where we can be free. I want to go home.

This week’s Littlestuff Weekender will appear on Sunday.

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Liberty or License?

As a Libertarian, I often encounter those who suspect that we want no rules, respect no convention and endorse anarchy. Admittedly, there are some Libertarians who believe that total anarchy is the ultimate expression of freedom, but they’re difficult to find because true anarchists can’t have meetings…much too organized. For many observers unfettered living is the equivalent of license…no restraints, no inhibitions, and no rules. They view the anarchistic lifestyle as chaotic.

There is a demarcation between the rule of law and excessive law. So too, there is a line between true individual liberty within a nation state and chaotic license. Anarchy can function effectively in isolation, but is severely limited in the context of a society. The very nature of a society requires standards and rules for peaceful interaction. The trick or the challenge is to devise a system of rules or laws that respects individuals but allows for some element of social cooperation. If we were 310 million anarchists living in the United States, then it seems that the ideal organizational structure would be for 310 million islands of property scattered across the fruited plain. Clearly, that is not a viable plan. The anarchist’s impulse, however, nurtures the seed of freedom. If we didn’t have the desire to follow our individual pathways, then we would all be contented members of the pack….or more appropriately the flock.

The lust for liberty is the driving force for explorers, pioneers and innovators. Their unquenchable yearning to escape the commonplace incites them to seek the extraordinary or to go beyond recognizable limits. Self expression and self determination are powerful. Most of us suppress those sentiments to some degree, but true societal advancement comes from those who harness their desires for freedom. The innovators channel their thirst for freedom toward pursuits that lift others while, at the same time, satisfying their passion for individuality and personal liberty. It is not an easy balancing act, and many give up trying because the reality is so difficult to achieve.

The final analysis, as I see it, is that each of us is born with a God-breathed desire for liberty. For some of us that impetus for freedom is so compelling that we prefer to isolate ourselves and follow our anarchist drummer. One could argue that anarchists are selfish and anti-social, but nevertheless, the impulse is a self-reliant one. Others nourish the spark of freedom but direct their energies toward a society that values the individual but recognizes the necessity of working in a structured society. The third group has extinguished the flame of freedom, succumbs to whatever government or society proposes, and lives a life of quiet and puzzled desperation. Personally, I believe that the third group, the compliant ones, is far more threatening than the wild and crazy anarchists. The compliant ones will lull us into servitude.

In my humble opinion we must possess an internal anarchist for liberty to prevail. Certainly, the anarchism must be tempered by reason and limited by self responsibility and accountability. For freedom to work, for liberty to be effective, each of us must yearn for it. Liberty must be more than an intriguing concept. It must be an unstoppable force.

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Sporting Necessity

Firearms are not magical for me. Although I have hunted, I have no passion for it even though some members of my family do. Target shooting is not a pastime that I pursue with any vigor although I have engaged in it in the past. Truth be known, I have killed more deer with a Buick Century than I have with a Remington, a Winchester or a Savage. I do not fear guns, but my testosterone does not flow more freely when I embrace them. No, the reason that I own firearms is that I consider it a necessity to do so.

As many friends and acquaintances have informed me, since the passage of the Ohio Concealed Carry Law, criminal activity has been on the decline. The data indicate similar results wherever CCW has been implemented. So, is my sense of necessity misplaced? Am I overreacting? Am I paranoid? Not really, because I believe they really are trying to get me. Although I am more than forty-five (45) years old, I still consider myself to be a member of the regular militia. No, not in any formal or organized sense, but as a patriot who is committed to the defense of my nation, my state, my community and my home. Several years ago I concluded that if I were to take my defensive and protective responsibilities seriously, then I needed something more lethal than spitballs or sticks.

When considering options for personal defense, I briefly toyed with deploying claymore mines in strategic locations around our property. Upon reflection, I decided that the minefield solution lacked mobility, and thus, didn’t satisfy my requirements. In a similar fashion I discarded the moat and crocodile remedy because the nasty beasts wouldn’t survive the Wood County winters, and I wasn’t too fond of spending weeks shoveling the necessary trench. One other negative factor impacted the two previous solutions: either one would have caused lawn mowing to become a high risk adventure.

So far this article may seem to be a rather flippant analysis of a serious issue, but I am attempting to illustrate that those who would restrict my right to own firearms would force people like me to explore ludicrous alternatives for self defense. If I am to fulfill my responsibilities as a husband, father and citizen, then I must have a reasonable method for doing so. Some have suggested a baseball bat as a logical alternative. Well, if one wishes to get within forty inches of an intruder and prays that he isn’t armed with an illegally acquired weapon, then perhaps, maybe, possibly a baseball bat might be somewhat effective…then again, perhaps not. A knife has similar concerns. One must be close enough to feel and smell the breath of the unwelcome visitor. Too close for comfort.

Yes, I can dial 9-1-1, and hope that I can stall the interloper for the requisite seven to eleven minute response time as we wait together. Maybe we could enjoy a glass of sherry or some warm bagels while awaiting the local constabulary. The bottom line is that as someone who is committed to the defense of my family and my country, firearms offer the best and most reasonable option.

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