So I saw a CNN reporter interviewing a Booger Boy or a Crude Boy or a boy of some such ilk. She asked him the obvious question, why was he moved to protest the outcome of the presidential election while carrying a loaded semi-automatic rifle?
He responded that you need to get permission from the government to do anything. You need permission from the government to build a house, or start a business. I suppose he might have gone on to say that you need permission from the government to carry your loaded semi-automatic rifle into the grocery store. This reminded me that a prominent citizen of my town said in 2016 that he was going to vote for a certain orange reality TV star because the town had required him to get a permit for a gravel pit, or more precisely it was the neighboring town that gave him trouble about building a road to the gravel pit.
I expect these people to have room temperature IQs, but I still find this puzzling. As far as I know the candidate in 2016, and the president for the past 4 years, has never publicly addressed the issue of building permits. It would make little sense for him to do so since in general, they have nothing to do with the federal government.* Zoning and building codes are promulgated and enforced by municipalities within parameters set by the states. As they do not entail interstate commerce, the federal government generally cannot get involved because of the 10th Amendment. As far as I know Joe Biden has never taken a position on building permits either, so this seems a strange motivation to violently storm the Capitol.
That being established, why are building permits required? Is this not an unconscionable assault on our God-given liberties? First, as I noted in our last installment, one reason for zoning regulations and I now add, also building codes, is that what you build affects your neighbors. That's why land is designated for certain uses, there are required set-backs from the property line, there might be regulations to maintain the historic character of a neighborhood, height restrictions, and so on. That doesn't mean I necessarily agree with every actually existing regulation, I'm just saying there is a defensible rationale for them. You might not like them, but if you violate them, your neighbors will be unhappy. That's why you also are not allowed to punch them or shoot them.
Another reason for building codes is consumer protection. Most people don't know anything about construction and they might decide to hire a contractor who is cheap, and then have their roof collapse after the first snowfall, or blow off in a hurricane. Wiring has to be done up to code because otherwise the house might catch fire, and the fire company will have to come and put it out and maybe risk their lives rescuing you and your parakeet. Your plumbing needs to be properly hooked up to the municipal sewer system, or a properly designed septic tank, for obvious reasons. If the house is poorly insulated, it will be impossible to heat and it will also cause high emissions of carbon and other pollutants. And so on.
What these libertarians can't seem to understand is that there is more than one person on the planet, i.e. not just themselves. Again, I don't know what this has to do with the presidential election, but I'm just sayin'.
*In very rare cases, a building project might come up against a federal regulatory issue such as protection of surface waters or endangered species. I thought I should mention that because some doofus would otherwise likely quibble.
2 comments:
It's much the same as with QAnon, I suspect. These people suspect (often rightly) that something is wrong, that the world is off kilter, but they lack the wherewithal to determine just what that is. Then, depending on their personal inclinations and direct experience, they fixate on something that seems to fit the bill.
One element of this which makes itself apparent here is that most americans have no understanding of how government and the regulatory state work in the federal system. This confusion is abetted by left's obsession with a superstar presidency as well as the nationalizing of all news stories by cable television and the internet. The latter is why many people, including some federal judges, seem to think we're in the midst of a violent crime wave with daily mass shootings.
Seems, once again, like true and comprehensive education is the answer to so many of our country's ills.
Public debate is something we can engage in if we're educated intellectually and emotionaly. Twitter and other platforms provide a way to add a lot of extraneous noise to an already-too-loud pandemonium that is improperly called "discourse." Ignorant people have no way to appropriately identify and process their feelings, no way to express themselves appropriately because they've been taught to repress emotions and project their flaws onto others. Alcoholism is rampant (I'm speaking of the mental aspects of it as well, the inability to take responsibility for one's actions), as well as other addictions.
It all starts with education. We need to start educating people in critical thinking and give them literacy from an early age. I've knocked around this entire country and I've seen terrible ignorance, whether it was from next-door neighbors in a slum in Jacksonville, FL or a preacher's son in Houston, TX, screaming homophobic drive-by slurs at locals on Westheimer. We need to teach literacy, critical thinking, true history, relationship skills, civics, and tolerance.
We also need to provide people with decent work, enough to live on, mental health services, and free health care. It's a lot harder to radicalize people when they are allowed to be themselves, and have their basic needs fulfilled.
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