Are these stupid laws or do I just not get it? (misc.)

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We've all heard about the laws on the books about not hitching your horse in town or not hanging men's and women's under garments next to each other on the line, those are silly. But, a couple of laws my friend told me about are either ridiculous or I don't get 'em. In Indiana, you can't take stones to build with out of you own creek, and if you butcher your own meat, you can only butcher one cow per family per year. I guess this is to help local business? Someone else is being paid not to graze their horses on certain land. Is there a good reason for that? Is that part of government subsidation? And while I'm at it, if people are so worried about world hunger(a definite problem), then why are they building all those houses on farm land instead of rebuilding the cities? Perhaps I'm the only one that doesn't understand all this. Please educate me, I'm listening with an open mind. Thanks.

-- Cindy (atilrthehony_1@yahoo.com), July 30, 2000

Answers

In Elizabethtown Kentucky it is against the law to eat ice cream on a city sidewalk or to dance in a place where alcohol is served. What's totally insane is --it's a dry county. Until 1980 it was against the law for a member of the armed services to be in the county after sundown. Fort Knox was 15 miles away. In reality we only need eight laws and they were covered years ago. I never thought you could legislate "coveting".

-- Joel Rosen (Joel681@webtv.net), July 30, 2000.

Hi Cindy,

There are two kinds of laws. Those that are on the books and those that are enforced. If every law on the books was enforced, there would not be enough police, courts, judges or jails to handle it. Laws are to governments what heirlooms are to families. Most of them just collect dust in the attic. Some are very special and proudly displayed (enforced), while others sit in an old cedar chest (law library) out of sight and out of mind.

I agree with Joel in one sense. We don't need more laws, we need to make better use of the ones we have.

(:raig

-- Craig Miller (CMiller@ssd.com), July 30, 2000.


While outdated laws are still on the books in many states and towns that sound stupid or "juvinle" to us now adays they had a purpose back when they were written. Morals were commomplace in regards to several of those laws where today it seems morals are a long past thing that only "crazy Christians" and "ignornant farm people" observed then as well as now. In all reality, the country as a whole has, in my humble opinion, slid to an all time low. Respect for one another has been lost along with the morality teachings. When was the last time you heard of respect for school teachers, law enforcement and gov't officials? Of course, you can't expect respect if you are disrespectful. Seems some people are of the caliber that doesn't demand respect while others are in a position of authority and are good decent people that are trapped by a position or job that is disrespectful. I'll ruffle a few feathers I suppose but when prayer and Jesus Christ was taken from the schools-America started its downhill slide. It's too late now to reverse this situation by man I'm afraid. Politicans can not change it--heck they are the main reason it's this way. When we have an elected official doing what clinton did and lie about it, before the whole country and more importantly--Almighty God-what can we expect. I'm not singling him out as there are others but he's the leader of the free world. I remember when a mans word was his bond. If he told you something and you shook hands on it - it was a done deal. No contract, no lawyers, bankers or any notory publics were needed. When neighbors would help each other out because of friendship and respect for each other. Those days have almost disappeared, I'm afraid. My two cents. Matt. 24:44

-- hoot (hoot@pcinetwork.com), July 30, 2000.

AMEN, Hoot !!! I still try to live that way. If I owe you and I haven't paid you, don't come looking for me-- go home. I'll be parked in your drive with the cash or a honest evaluation of why I don't and the day and time you can expect it. Some may say I have no respect for the officers of this land. I will heartily disagree ! I believe those in authority must earn that respect. When they fail to do so than social disobendience is our only recourse. "Equal Force" is the law of the land to defend oneself's from injury or tyranny. Maybe if the justice department didn't assualt the home's of private citizens with MP-50 fully automatic guns than we would not be forced to use our full auto AK-47's to comply with that law--EQUAL FORCE ! I love this Country--it is my government that has failed me not vice versus. When I ask not what my country could do for me but rather what I could do for my country ?--the answer was run the government out of business.

-- Joel Rosen (Joel681@webtv.net), July 30, 2000.

Okay Hoot,

You brought it up. So when was the last "good" time? When, in this country's history did the laws reflect common decent behavior. People respected the law and in turn were protected by the law. You say, we've slid? I agree to a point. But, in order to slide, there must have been a "high point". When was it? Just curious.

(:raig

-- Craig Miller (CMiller@ssd.com), July 30, 2000.



I would have to say that 1955 to 1960 would have been the best era for decent behavior and great economy. I think Trumans decision to use the atom bomb on Japan may have brought the wrath of God on this nation. It seems we never have fully paid our debt to humanity for that one. I must say though: I would have sweated blood over the decision but I would have dropped it also.

-- Joel Rosen (Joel681@webtv.net), July 30, 2000.

In Texas, if a man and woman live together for 6 months, it is considered a common law marriage; if a man and woman ~ who are not legally married ~ are introduced in public as 'my wife,' 'my husband,' 3 different times, they are considered legally married. If they split up, they have to get a divorce. If they don't, they're bigamists if they go on to live with someone else or marry. I know someone going thru this right now. What a country!

-- ~Rogo (rogo2020@yahoo.com), July 30, 2000.

Craig! I suppose it depends upon one's age as to when the best times were. To me the high point would've been right before the "beatnik" era. For all the young whippersnappers---in the 60's the slide began. In all reality, I'm sure older folks would disagree with me ans say it was earlier. I wouldn't argue with them as they wouldve known more about it than I. I really seen the slide in the late 60's and early 70's. I was a cop and really seen it slide in about 4 years. In fact it slid to the point that I resigned and left law enforcement entirely. Disrespect for the badge from the general public--and I don't blame them at all. We had new officers to come on the force that had watched entirely too much t.v. They wanted to "bust a cap" on poor, homeless alcoholic people. No wonder the public called us the "stormtroopers, ss, gestapo" etc. Some had earned that name by the way they treated the public. No man is above the law and I saw that happen more than once. The gov't is here to serve us and not the other way around. The politicans are just too crooked and corrupt for me to respect any. If they are our servants, which they're supposed to be, let'm work for wages equal to what we earn-let them be under the Social Security wer'e under-and let them be subjected to the laws we are. No way that's gonna happen. Why should they--we keep voting party line regardless what the crooks stand for. In my opinion they are ALL liars, crooks and corrupt. There might be some honest ones but who wants to shake'm out and find that few. The only Higher Power that I honor and respect is the Lord Jesus Christ. I may have to live under the laws of a corrupt gov't but I sure don't have to respect them. Matt. 24:44

-- hoot (hoot@pcinetwork.com), July 30, 2000.

The 50's were fine, unless perhaps you were a person of color and tried to oh, sit at a lunch counter in the south....it all depends on your perception of what was "fine" I guess. Just injecting another viewpoint...

-- sheepish (rborgo@gte.net), July 30, 2000.

I have long been a student of society -- watching and learning. I don't have the earned wisdom of Hoot, but I do know what I believe based on what I've learned of history. I was born in the sixties. I didn't "experience" them -- I was in diapers -- so I might be way off base here, but it seems to me that that was when "me" and "I" became more important than "we" and "us". Those of you who were observing adults during that era can correct me if I'm wrong, but an era that teaches selfishness and want rather than generosity and sharing can't help but produce the results that we're currently dealing with, can it?

I am going to hear a lot of negative feedback from this, I'm sure, but I'm a thirty-something woman who has lived in the fast lane with a very successful career, and I have to say that I feel it is when "want" became "need" and women began to leave the home for work and leaving their children to be raised by daycares that society really started it's downward slide. Can't that be placed right around 1965????

Forgive me for the rant, but I see the effects of "latchkey" children who have become selfish, insular, greedy "latchkey" adults -- and are raising their children the same way -- and these children are now teenagers with too much time and too little ambition. It affects our society because they're going to be angry adults with no conscience -- aka sociopaths. And we raised them -- all for want of a bigger television set and a tropical vacation every year.

I agree with the previous post that said that the fifties were great if you weren't a minority. Some good - a lot of good -- really did come from the sixties, but a lot of the societal garbage we're dealing with now did, too.

-- Tracy (trimmer@westzone.com), July 30, 2000.



I am from Indiana and as for the law In Indiana that says "you can't take stones to build with out of you own creek" That is two foal, one it's an erosion thing and two in the southern part of the state the creeks were full of "Brian stones" which like formations in a cave are living. Moving them from there creek bed kills them. This may not sound like much but I have seen silos build out of them and after a while they no longer exsit...but on the other hand we can't walk an alagater on main street after sundown

-- Grant Eversoll (thegrange@earthlink.net), July 30, 2000.

Hoot, removing prayer and the Bible from the schools wasn't the cause of our problems, just one more symptom. Where did things start going bad? Well, if you try to trace it to the source, you will have to go back a LONG way, to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and the first sin. You can trace the thread, ebbing and waning, clear from there to the present. But as a whole society, I do think that, from what I've heard (I was in diapers in the fifties), the fifties were really the last moral generation. The "ME" people (I'll do what *I* want, rather than what God says in His Word) already existed -- always have existed -- but hadn't completely taken over yet.

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), July 31, 2000.

Grant, thanks for the explanation.

-- Cindy (atilrthehony_1@yahoo.com), July 31, 2000.

Well Hoot (and the rest of you Old Timers),

My 16 year-old-daughter stopped me dead in my tracks.

"Okay Ceese, let me ask you. When was the best time to live?"

"That's easy. Now's the best time. 'Cause my generation is going to fix everything YOUR generation screwed up!"

Am I optimistic about the future? YOU BET!

(:raig

-- Craig Miller (CMiller@ssd.com), July 31, 2000.


Gee, Craig...I'm a generation (or two!) back, but I seem to recall saying the same thing to MY parents!! Wish there was a way to hang on to that idealism, don't you?

I'm not sure that I've fixed any of the screw-ups of past generations, but I've tried real hard not to make too many of my own!

I too, am optomistic about the future, looking to my own daughter. Sometimes I wonder if - maybe instead of trying to lessen the burden on the planet by only having one child, maybe I should have raised up a few more good citizens! Both of us are active in various volunteer programs, try to live gently on the planet, and try to do what we can to help others, rather than just considering our own wants. And somehow, we've managed to do this; both of us - while being raised by working mothers AND while not being Christians. So, no - I don't think the world went to heck in a handbasket when Moms went to work (what about during WWII?). Nor do I think it happened when they took prayer and the Bible out of school. I think rotten people are just rotten people - there are just more of them (both people and rotten people) and with all the electronic gagetry, word gets out sooner.

-- Polly (tigger@moultrie.com), July 31, 2000.



I do believe that things in our society are getting worse. To say that the fifties was when things were good i believe untrue. Children were still being molested, wives were still being beaten and adultury (sp) was happening. it was just nobody was talking about it! A lot of the things that are happening today we want to blame on young people when actually it's many older people that grew up dysfunctionally and are acting out now. we can only work on ourselves and until we can stand there with no faults we should not be aloud to point a finger...thanks for letting me rant.

-- Amber (ambrosia75_@hotmail.com), July 31, 2000.

Following this discussion, I see a lot of good points, as well as some (IMO) unrelated sidetracking. To be expected of course, if the solution were easy, we would have fixed it already. Where is this all coming from? I am going to jump in and agree that at least part of the problem resulted when the focus shifted from "we" to "me", and from "what is the right thing to do" to "what can I get away with." Along with this came the competition called "keeping up with the Jones." All of the above focus on a shift from community to personal interest. Why did this occur? We (as a society) are no longer dependant on our immediate community for our survival. We get an impersonal job, cash our paycheck, and BUY what we want, without having to worry about the opinions of our neighbors. If things get too uncomfortable, we don't try to fix our mistakes, we move somewhere else. And while we are chasing our dream of success, (and looking at our watches impatiently), we are teaching the next generation what I fondly call the "McDonalds Syndrome" (I want my gratification, and I want it RIGHT NOW) As for the religion factor, I am going to agree, and disagree, with your assessment. I agree that to be a truly complete person, some form of spiritual path is necessary, both as a guide to personal growth, and as a source of community. I disagree in thinking that Christianity is the only option. Christianity is one of many paths that all seem to have the same basic rules. (Treat others as you wish to be treated, take personal responsibility for your behavior, ect...) The differences are minor, and the similarities are profound. If ALL of us can manage to work together, instead of picking each other apart over points of doctrine, I believe we will see the results we desire.

-- Connie (Connie@lunehaven.com), August 04, 2000.

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