After all, we are a country of laws, laws, laws
“We’re a country of laws,” presidential candidates remind us. This seems an understatement.
God saw the need to hand down ten rules. The federal government has given us tens of thousands more; so many even government lawyers say it’s not possible to get a count. State, county and cities have their own set, putting the total into the hundreds of thousands.
More than 20,000 laws control the sale and use of guns, which many feel is not enough. Bankruptcy laws represent volumes, the tax code is so enormous and complex the IRS struggles to understand it, and I’m acquainted with medical practitioners who suspect health care laws are beyond the grasp of human comprehension.
There are so many laws, rules, executive orders, government policies and legal opinions of various statutes that if everyone in the country was a vigilant deputy, enforcement would still be beyond reach.
The federal government has to make choices. Our U.S. attorney general has said that enforcement decisions are based on what is felt to be in the best interest of the federal government. Some might think the people should come first. Regardless, I find their priorities to often be strange. This administration has chosen to ignore sanctuary cities, which cost taxpayers millions. If reports from southern borders are to be believed, the non-enforcement of immigration laws is much broader than sanctuary cities. The same elected officials placing a comparatively low priority on this issue attach a high one in forcing schools to provide bathroom facilities for people who consider their gender to be a matter of preference rather than biology. It seems nonsensical for the might of the federal government to focus on this particular matter—a political correctness solution looking for a problem and creating a bigger one.
I need to be identified and wait for a door to unlock in order to enter the lobby of a public school. I suppose, though, that once inside if I found myself feeling feminine I’d be allowed to stroll through the girls’ locker room. (As sophomores, Harry and I would have tested that law in a heartbeat.)
The FDA has laws which regulate the amount of rodent poo allowed in breakfast cereal, and a staff to enforce it. Rats, though, ignore the law. Rats don’t care. People are more inclined to comply, but we routinely violate laws we don’t know exist. Others we ignore because they’re either absurd, unenforceable, or both. I couldn’t count the officers I’ve worked with who threw a buck in the World Series pool, went out to spend the day fighting crime, and drove to lunch at 20 over. Did it myself, conforming to the federal policy of discretionary enforcement.
A more recent offense was committed out of ignorance. I saved a few seeds from a variety of eggplant called “Hansel.” The Hansel is a nice eggplant; tasty, productive, great on the grill. Hansel plants are not always available locally, so saving seeds seemed a good idea.
Monsanto, which has advanced from making Agent Orange to creating global dependency on ag seed and chemicals, is the victim of my eggplant rip-off. Monsanto has gone beyond GMO crops and chemicals. They began buying garden seed companies a few years ago, then applying for patents on vegetables. While we can understand protecting investment in research, who’d have thought of an eggplant patent? I did not, and have since learned that Monsanto routinely files infringement lawsuits.
I doubt they’ll bother with me for three puny eggplants, and neither will ATF for that pint jar of nasty, undrinkable ‘shine in the basement (another small, technical violation), but I suppose they could.
This is, as the candidates say, a country of laws.
Roy Marshall is a local historian and columnist for the Red Oak Express. He can be contacted at news@redoakexpress.com.