Apathy towards the Law
Not too long ago, a group of activists wanted to protest the irony of Freedom in Washington DC and decided to sell Lemonade in front of the Capital Building. According to a local regulation, it was against the law to do so. They didn’t care, and went about doing it anyway.
Once the stand was setup, they had plenty of customers coming along to buy the Lemonade. However, it being an illegal activity, a dozen or so Police officers showed up to end the ruckus caused by the activists. As you watch the video, notice that, despite a heavy Police presence, all the customers just continued to buy Lemonade, even after being told not to by Officers.
My question is this: If there is a bill, law, or regulation in existence, and the only people that care about it not being followed are the lawmakers and law enforcers, does it really need to exist? Theft is something that both law makers and citizens agree needs to be illegal. Selling lemonade outside on a hot day without a permit? Nobody cares about that except the law makers and law enforcers. I guarantee you people didn’t walk buy and say “Oh man, I sure would love a lemonade, but I doubt they have a permit, so I better not buy it”.
Utah recently enacted a stupid law called the Zion Curtain, and, just like petty regulations, nobody except lawmakers care about it. There was also a man in Orem that had been selling pumpkins from his garden for 20 years and this year was threatened to be “shut down” because he didn’t have the proper permit and licensing, snitched on by an over-zealous neighbor. Do you think he lost customers because some realized he probably didn’t have a permit and opted out of buying his pumpkins over the 20 years? I really, really doubt that.
To end, I really have to ask, if the only people that care about the enforcement of regulations and laws are the law makers, why on earth is the bill passed in the first place?