Near my home there is an elementary school. The speed limit on the main road perpendicular to the entrance is 40 miles an hour. There is an electronic sign reminding people to slow down in the school zone. The sign even displays your speed and flashes if it “thinks” you are driving too fast. Sounds reasonable, right? The problem is this “smart” sign is idiotic. The sign is always on, always flashing, always cautioning drivers to slow down due the dangers of children traveling on foot to and from school…. even in the middle of the night, on a Saturday, in July. Most of the time the caution is irrelevant. Drivers subsequently ignore the sign almost all of the time. The government solution is an expensive decoration making no-one safer.
That is the way government works. It imposes rules for rare occurrences in life while taking reason and Liberty out of daily life. When Ron Paul was a US Representative for Texas, a common criticism was that he was ineffective. The way the press measured his effectiveness was by the number of bills he authored that actually became law. While some laws can help to secure liberty, most choke it in some fashion. Based on the press’ enthusiasm for new laws, apparently they expect Congress to oppress the people as rapidly as possible.
At some point constituents in my neighborhood lobbied local law makers to post a sign to protect the children. They trusted government to solve a local neighborhood problem. The government, in turn punished, the entire community with its, poorly executed, expensive, potentially dangerous, neighborhood restriction effective until the end of time. I am sure the politicians were rewarded for “doing something” and the constituents walked away thinking they made government work for them, relieving them of the responsibility. The rest of us pay.
Any attempt to remove or modify this decision is rejected with accusations that we hate children. Decent is squashed In favor of legalistic, illogical, lunacy. It is easier and more socially acceptable to just accept the feckless, but minor infringement. So, the policies remain. The liberty lost is almost unnoticeable. Meanwhile, the company continues to sell more overpriced warning signs to more communities as it gains support from more politicians. No one is safer, but gosh, those politicians did something with your tax dollars. This pattern repeats its self over and over again. It is magnified exponentially when it expands to the state and federal levels. There is a difference though. At the Federal level they are not spending your tax dollars. They mortgage the future of this nation as future generations are taxed without representation from the massive debt we selfishly accumulate.
Years ago the East Side Tea Party posted an article called The Proper role of Government. It is a guide answering the statement of “there should be a law.” Our rights should not be easily forfeited. Liberty lost is rarely regained. Selfishness drives most of the laws on the books. The Government cannot give you the safety and security you desire without a sacrifice. Most of the time when they try, the result is legal lunacy which only serves to ensure an endless stream of expenses and additional laws to cover up for the initial nearsightedness of the original. When you petition the government, ask not what your government can to to restrict the liberty of your neighbors. Ask what you can do to ease the burdens of your communities.