Our country is in need of an overhaul. The simple fact that we cannot walk down the streets at night without having to fear for our safety should be enough evidence of that. The most obvious place to start – the laws and bodies that govern our daily lives.Preceding any political argument about big government, small government, tax hikes, tax breaks etc., we must first establish what it is we believe the function of government to be. The most obvious and agreed upon function of a governing body is to protect us from other nations and more importantly each other. The argument usually begins, however, when we ask the question – is the government to protect us from ourselves?This editorial will reflect the belief of its writer by stating “no.” In my personal opinion, no governing body has the right to instruct me not to grow and consume any plant of my choice. If you want to sit on your couch and inject heroin, so be it, but you must be responsible for whatever you may do in that state. The minute you put a key in the ignition of your car or build a faulty child’s car seat, it is time for the government to step in and protect me from you.To cite the numerous laws that attempt to relieve us of any responsibility of making our own decisions would be a waste of your and my time. Let us just state that they are abundant and have helped in leading us to our current social crisis. We now have citizens who would rather allow the government to make decisions for them than make decisions for themselves. Even more detrimental are the parents who now expect the government and schools to raise their children. Our laws are destroying Americans’ sense of responsibility.An even bigger ailment that helps lead to the same result, is the lack of enforcement of the laws we have established. It seems that a season can’t go by without “20/20” or “Dateline NBC” running a special or two on drunk driving, highlighting the horrifying number of cases in which a defendant on trial for his 12th drunk driving offense receives a week in jail or a $500 fine. What should the sentence be for someone who knew of a plot to kill hundreds of people but did not come forward – 12 years? Do these sentences enforce our legal code? We choose to live in this society. This society has laws. If we choose to break those laws, this society has the right to impose any sentence it sees fit. You do not have to agree or support these laws, but if you’re going to remain in this society, you must follow them. So why not a five year sentence for D.U.I.? How about murder? I personally cannot justify the death penalty. Who am I to decide if your life should be terminated? However, if you choose to break that law of our society, if you take someone’s life, just one person’s, our society has the right to incarcerate you for 30, 40, 50 years – life, but instead we give you 10. Justice is served when we imprison you for 10 years after you have denied another the right to live?Put simply, we have too many laws that take away our responsibility. Whether or not you agree with this is irrelevant, however, when it comes to the matter of lack of enforcement. It is our right and duty to properly enforce all laws that we choose to adopt.
Andrew Hall is a regular Lantern columnist.
