Broad meadows

As I mentioned in the last post, the Constitution of the United States doesn’t tell the public what it can and can’t do, but what the government can’t do to us. The Constitution then delegates responsibilities to each branch how they may use the power’s inherent in those responsibilities. One might ask “why invoke traffic law in a debate about what is or isn’t constitutional?” It may that I have an axe to grind in this matter and to an extent, I do. That doesn’t obviate the need to examine why I think they are wrong and have the wrong emphasis.

The purpose of law is to serve the needs of justice, but traffic law turns that around. It use’s the damage done by the guilty as a pretense to punish those who haven’t harmed anyone and does so in an arbitrary fashion. Consider stop signs. If you don’t come to a complete stop, as judged by the officer, you can (and will) be fined. But when is the best time to enter traffic? When it’s clear, it doesn’t become clearer by waiting longer, it can only become less clear. Hence the stop sign is an impediment to safety in that case.

Consider traffic lights. Almost all of the accidents I have seen over the years on surface streets occur at lighted intersections. This is the place where government exerts its most control on the public, yet it’s the most dangerous place. Why is that? Some might say that it would be because of the amount of traffic those intersections transport. I would say it’s the light itself that is the cause of the accident. How? One is that they cause congestion, compressing traffic, bringing together cars that were far apart and using up the natural spaces people place between themselves and other cars. Spaces others could use to get into traffic. Every time they change, someone is having to decide whether to speed up, slow down or stomp on the brakes. That is why accidents occur there. Some people would rather brake at green lights than have to make that decision, thus causing more compression. It would be far better to have one side yielding to the other, leaving those natural spaces intact and removing the constant unnecessary decision making that changing timed lights cause. It should only matter if it’s clear or not. No other judgement need be made.

Yet an entire governmental entity is established simply to fund its own activities. They add nothing to public safety. The more laws, the more lawbreakers, the greater the need for governance. It’s a never ending cycle of more government to deal with the effects of bad governance. I could go on for a while, but now I would rather deal with what the solutions could be for such things.

Paul writes in Romans 14:3-5, “For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.”

In other words, it is the wrong doer that is meant to be afraid of government inspection. Wrong in what way? Wrong occurs when someone, typically through some malevolent action, harms another human being’s body, property or reputation. Each one of those things have value to the one who possesses them. Any loss caused through that action then becomes a matter of justice. Nothing else rises to that level. So when a government agency of justice spends its time and resources on matters that don’t rise to that level, that is, don’t cause any harm, it’s not just a matter of priorities, but is actually injustice itself. It is the appearance of governance, not actual governance. I would call the concept that all laws should (must) be passed through is what I would call “show harm.” That is, if a government official decides that it needs to prosecute a person, that there must be a harm articulated by that agency and that there must be a plaintiff, that is someone who was harmed in one of those areas.

On an individual level, this is why self governance is so important. This what the Bible commands when it says that we should “love our neighbor as ourselves.” If practiced, then those people that live in such a way are meant to left to themselves by the authorities. This what I meant in the title” . . .the power of righteousness.” This is also why the righteous can be bold as lion, but also that when evil reigns, the righteous go into hiding. If the law is working as the tool of justice that it is meant to be, the burden on the judiciary, and hence government overall, would be much lighter. Having bureaucratic governmental organizations that exist only for their own purposes and not those of the public can only lead to further tyranny.