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Politics : Sharks in the Septic Tank -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: dave rose who wrote (17383)	6/26/2001 10:50:52 AM
From: thames_sider	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 82486

Could we have more personal responsibility to govern these problems? Only when - or if - people show it... most laws are made to deter (or give a method of punishing) criminals, who have by definition shown less or no responsibility for the well-being of others. If a minority of people are irresponsible enough to need explicit legal warning against doing something stupid, thoughtless or dangerous before they will stop, then the choice is between protecting the majority - while restricting their freedom to be irresponsible (inconsiderate of others), even if they wouldn't use that 'freedom' - and accepting an avoidable risk. In a legalistic culture, the latter leads to lawsuits: perhaps rightly, if a driver's reckless disregard of others' safety causes him/her to have an accident or kill a pedestrian - but wouldn't this lead to a clamour for such a law, to 'prevent' other drivers killing while behaving in a theoretically legal fashion? Still, in a libertarian culture, the latter is surely the goal - relying on the civic sense of the individual to do the right thing. <g> and we know humans are trustworthy to do that.

To: dave rose who wrote (17383)	6/26/2001 11:02:34 AM
From: Lane3	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 82486

Would you put drinking a hot cup of coffee while driving in the same category as cell phone use? My pet peeve is putting on makeup while driving. I don't know how many times I saw that during my morning commute. Even mascara. I'd be afraid of poking myself in the eye, at a minimum. And I've seen people reading newspapers, too. I think it's pretty irresponsible. The most I ever attempt while driving is to change the channel on the radio or CD player or drink through a straw from a covered cup of a cold soft drink. Maybe a quick glance at some written directions. I won't even listen to a recorded book. They're putting more and more appliances into cars now. VCRs and coffee pots and who knows what other distractions. Hopefully, people will use them responsibly and obviate the calls for regulation. Karen