The Death of Common Sense: How law is suffocating America, by Philip K. Howard
This was another one I picked up from a Jon Stewart show, and it is a great read that really targets what it is about our government right now that really makes me angry. He brings up that we distrusted government so much that we demanded they write rules to follow. And those rules needed to cover everything that could happen. Well, once those thick rule books came, the bureaucracy grew and everyone hid behind them. No one needed to step up and make a decision or take responsibility so long as they followed these rules.
Unfortunately, the rules that are written aren't practical when universalized. What applies to make this factory safer only serves an obstructive purpose at another factory.
He also talks about the rights movement. When we turned around from having rights to not be constrained by laws to having rights to have laws apply to people we gave those people a free ticket to trample the rest of us. Ok... that sentence doesn't read quite right. Here's a quote from the book:
Rights are considered as American as apple pie. This is a country where citizens have rights. The Bill of Rights is the best-known part of the Constitution: Government can't tell us what to say, and can't take away our "life, liberty or property" except by due process. Rights are basic. Until the last few decades, however, rights were not something to shout about. ...
Rights have taken on a new role in America. Whenever there is a perceived injustice, new rights are created to help the victims. These rights are different: While the rights-bear-ers may see them as "protection," they don't protect so much as provide. These rights are intended as a new, and often invisible form of subsidy. They are provided at everyone else's expense, byt the amount of the check is left blank.
And now i'm one-handed...but definitely worth the read and subsequent thoughts...
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