Website owner: James Miller
Rules, laws, and prohibitions versus liberty and freedom
People praise the abstract ideas of liberty and freedom. Americans talk of their rights, liberties and freedoms. However, in fact, in all civilized societies one always finds all kinds of laws, rules, and regulations that place restraints on how individuals in the society may act. In other words, there are all kinds of laws and rules that restrain the freedom of the individual to act in whatever way he pleases. Generally the purpose of these rules is to protect perceived rights of others. For example, take the law against murder. We assume everyone has a right to life so we enact laws against murder. We assume everyone has a right to keep what belongs to him so we have laws against stealing. We feel everyone has a right to sleep quietly at night without being kept awake by blaring music and loud partying so we have regulations prohibiting loud noise at night. We feel everyone should have a right to the assurance that the food he buys is healthy and safe so we have food safety laws pertaining to food preparation. We want the water that we drink and the air that we breathe to be clean and healthy so we have environmental protection laws that protect rivers, land, and the air. We want to be able to drive safely so we have traffic laws that force people to drive by certain rules for the safety of all.
Considering all this, we ask: Are lots of rules and laws and abridgements of freedom bad? There are lots of societies that have a lot less laws than others, or that enforce their laws a lot less than others. There are societies where one may in fact be kept awake by blaring music and loud partying at 3:00 AM in the morning. Would one wish to live in a society like that? I wouldn’t. I treasure peace and quiet. There are societies where the air is very badly polluted and you can’t trust the food that you buy to be safe and healthy. Would one like to live in a society like that? There are societies where people do just about anything they wish and laws are not much enforced (I am thinking about China). You could argue that these societies are a lot freer than ours. Would one prefer living in such a society?
In America, we celebrate our rights, our freedoms. We do have certain rights guarantied by the bill of rights in our constitution — like freedom of speech, press, religion, assembly, the right to bear arms, etc. However, we are far from being free in the absolute sense. We are everywhere constrained by all kinds of rules and laws. I have heard it said that if you don’t like noise, if you like peace and quiet, America is the best country in which to live. That is because so many countries of the world are so noisy — there being lots of street noise, etc. in the towns and cities. The reason America is quiet lies in rules and regulations and the enforcement of them.
I believe the best government is one that does the minimum necessary, leaving the rest to the free market system. However, if you believe that a lot of rules and regulations and their enforcement are important to a society, that implies a substantial amount of bureaucracy. You need people to make the rules and people to enforce them.
One problem that comes with lots of rules and regulations is that making good laws and rules requires thought, good judgment, good common sense, careful thinking. You don’t want more laws than necessary or bad laws. You want only laws that are necessary and good ones. And just how much and what is necessary is a matter of personal judgment. If the politicians and bureaucrats who make the laws are influenced by special interest groups who want rules that favor themselves you may end up with bad and unnecessary laws and regulations. In addition, a whole large portion of humanity lacks good sense, good judgment — creating another problem. Foolish, impractical eggheads may make bad, unnecessary laws. And in connection with this I think of some of my experiences with homeowners associations. I have owned houses in which I lived in great dread of the annual house inspections. I could count on, every time, getting a list of 15 or 20 things that needed to be corrected of the most trivial nature, most being arguable. I think there is a certain kind of person who is attracted to serving on homeowner association boards: people who just love lording it over others and giving them a difficult time. However unfair they are, you can’t fight them and it is not worth it to take them to court.
Sept 2020
Jesus Christ and His Teachings
Way of enlightenment, wisdom, and understanding
America, a corrupt, depraved, shameless country
On integrity and the lack of it
The test of a person's Christianity is what he is
Ninety five percent of the problems that most people have come from personal foolishness
Liberalism, socialism and the modern welfare state
The desire to harm, a motivation for conduct
On Self-sufficient Country Living, Homesteading
Topically Arranged Proverbs, Precepts, Quotations. Common Sayings. Poor Richard's Almanac.
Theory on the Formation of Character
People are like radio tuners --- they pick out and listen to one wavelength and ignore the rest
Cause of Character Traits --- According to Aristotle
We are what we eat --- living under the discipline of a diet
Avoiding problems and trouble in life
Role of habit in formation of character
Personal attributes of the true Christian
What determines a person's character?
Love of God and love of virtue are closely united
Intellectual disparities among people and the power in good habits
Tools of Satan. Tactics and Tricks used by the Devil.
The Natural Way -- The Unnatural Way
Wisdom, Reason and Virtue are closely related
Knowledge is one thing, wisdom is another
My views on Christianity in America
The most important thing in life is understanding
We are all examples --- for good or for bad
Television --- spiritual poison
The Prime Mover that decides "What We Are"
Where do our outlooks, attitudes and values come from?
Sin is serious business. The punishment for it is real. Hell is real.
Self-imposed discipline and regimentation
Achieving happiness in life --- a matter of the right strategies
Self-control, self-restraint, self-discipline basic to so much in life