Think about it. If you are out driving at 3 a.m., do you stop at a stop sign when there’s no one coming? Of course you do.Of course I DON'T. Oh sure, once upon a time I stopped, but now? Nope, I look around to make sure there aren't any cops, make sure I won't cause an accident, and then I roll right on through.
California has metered on-ramps. I think they actually work reasonably well so I have no problem with the concept. However, like the one in the picture, sometimes there's nobody there, so to stop and then accelerate to freeway speeds is simply a waste of time and gas (and hey, I should care about those CO2 emissions, right?). So for on-ramps I'm familiar with, if nobody's there, I just make sure no cops are watching and then I blow right on through.Then, of course, I got to thinking (always dangerous). What's really the difference between running a metered on ramp red light and red lights in general? Or stop signs? Or ignoring any traffic law as long as safety isn't compromised (too much)? And many if not most people exceed the speed limit anyway, right? Therefore, I decided that there's no difference, and I take traffic laws as sort of advisory coupled with some effort to avoid getting caught breaking them.
Schlicter's point is that if people believe in the rule of law and believe in the leaders and rulers, they'll follow the law by custom. But as he notes:
The idea of the rule of law today is a lie. There is no law. There is no justice. There are only lies.This is Schlicter's Independence Day column. Conservatives are simply giving up. We are no longer part of the nation. Some are working against the system. Most, like me, are just ignoring the system whenever possible (things like traffic laws and bureaucratic ridiculousness) and are keeping our heads down and hoping nobody notices us while we live out the remainder of our lives. Sort of like serfs. And note that freedom is decreasing World Wide:
The world was battered by crises that fueled xenophobic sentiment in democratic countries, undermined the economies of states dependent on the sale of natural resources, and led authoritarian regimes to crack down harder on dissent….I think it bodes badly for the country and perhaps the world but that's for the younger generation to worry about. And that's the context within I wrote the TEXIT post the other day. Would conservatives be allowed to migrate to one state and leave or will we and our descendants be forced to live within this nation controlled by progressives until the end of time?
Is there a right to self-determination?
6 comments:
I've always stopped and still do, except if I'm alone on a dark, lonely road where the danger is more likely to be a lunatic on the prowl than the fuzz ... and if somebody's following me, they better have a faster car than my big old Chrysler or they'll just see a red, or is it blue, blur in the far distance.
Jeesh, you guys will believe anything. :-)
Then, of course, I got to thinking (always dangerous). What's really the difference between running a metered on ramp red light and red lights in general? Or stop signs? Or ignoring any traffic law as long as safety isn't compromised (too much)? And many if not most people exceed the speed limit anyway, right?
Traffic laws, ideally, codify common sense, and therefore greatly reduce the thinking required to drive; NB: thinking weakens the team.
Everyone follows the traffic laws here in Germany. Despite the truly amazing speeds people drive in the autobahns, the traffic fatality rate is 1/3 of the US's.
The point being that if everyone at all times followed all the rules, then essentially everyone would make it to their destinations with their cars and lives intact. Most drivers follow most of the laws nearly all the time because not doing so presumes knowledge you may not have about things that aren't necessarily apparent.
If everyone stops at the stop signs at 3am, then no one gets T-boned because someone didn't see as much as they thought they did.
Is there a right to self-determination?
Yes, but it is neither simple nor absolute.
I got pulled over for making an illegal U-turn at 4 am. Didn't see the cop.
I was in a hurry to catch a plane. Didn't get a ticket but it woud have taken less time overall to have waited for the light to change.
Damned if I see this as a conservative/liberal issue, though
... Harry, I can see how you wouldn't understand this as a conservative issue because you don't get it. Liberals have little or no respect for the rule of law and even less respect for their duties as a citizen to uphold it while conservatives believe in the rule of law, so we obey it even at times when there is no apparent reason to do so like stopping at a red light at a deserted intersection in the middle of the night and feeling rather foolish while doing so. Been there, done that. :-)
I hope you didn't miss your flight.
Harry wrote: "Damned if I see this as a conservative/liberal issue, though"
It's not. It's a trust in ruling institutions/rule-of-law issue. The elite versus the commoner. The ruling class versus the serfs.
Elitist traffic signs? Aux barricades!
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