Reply #319: Interesting question... [View All]

[Mythsaje]

I'm not sure I have an answer right off the bat.

Law is pretty cut and dried, but, oddly enough, can be bent any number of ways by someone familiar enough with it. I doubt anyone intended for a little girl to suffer a felony charge for defending herself when the law was written, yet that's exactly what happened.

I'm not even so much certain that anyone else should interpret it, but the law shouldn't be the finally arbiter when circumstances obviously demand an altered view. There should be a point where someone realizes--"okay, this isn't the way this law or rule should work...what's wrong with it?"

But instead more laws get put on the books, so many that the average person has NO idea whether or not he or she may be violating one of those laws, and enforcement is up to the various agencies in charge of such things at their own discretion.

Laws that are not or cannot be enforced for a variety of reasons should be stricken from the books...they're useless and, in my opinion, simply increase contempt for law in general.

What's funny is that I'm almost militant about following laws and rules, personally. I obey every traffic regulation (except very occasionally, the speed limit) and only park in designated spots and do my best not to go against the grain.

I think that's one of the reasons I'm really against arbitrary judgements and abuse of power. I'm one of the people most susceptible to it because I believe in order. But I believe in order from the inside out...if I act rightly, it extends into the universe from me...to my family, to my neighborhood, and to my community. Yes, I realize it doesn't really work that way, but I am, in the end, the only one who can control my own actions and attitudes.