Hello Quetzalcoatl,
You can't see it, but I'm rolling my eyes really hard right now. REALLY HARD.
First of all, yes it does. If we cannot reasonably live a life without violating the law, then the law is a problem.
OK, you're taking me back pretty far now. I have to think way back to when I was in my twenties and I realized the same thing you are saying. And it is true. It is so difficult to be in complete 100% compliance with all laws that it is virtually impossible to live a life in the USA without breaking one sooner or later. And along with that realization also comes the realization that it is equally impossible for law enforcement to apprehend every law breaker. So there is this huge gray area. What's OK? What isn't? What can you get away with? Should you try? Would you feel like a fool for complying when you see the majority of people are not? And they are getting away with it? Where do you draw the line? Wouldn't it be simpler if the laws and the enforcement were absolute so there was no gray area? Do this and you're OK, but do that and you will get caught and punished?
Well, sure. That would be simpler. But it's fantasy. Life isn't that simple and neither can laws be. There is always going to be a gray area because life is complex. Even after an individual is charged with breaking a law the punishment is not immediate. There is a trial. An official procedure to look at the evidence and decide if the law was broken and what the punishment should be if any.
Life is a gray area and we are free to decide how far we want to push things. If laws are a problem that means it is reflective of life. Life is a problem, a challenge. We have to have laws. We like freedom, but freedom for one individual must end when it begins to encroach upon the life of another individual or the State. As society advances and new things are developed there are also new ways to encroach upon the freedom of others. So new laws must be created. That's why we couldn't simply have one set of laws that is good for all time, why our Constitution can't simply state the laws once and for all time, why we must have law makers. The founders were pretty smart.
As individuals we all have to make a judgement call about compliance with the law. We all have to figure out for ourselves how to conduct ourselves and make sure we don'r run afoul of the law. Generally, if an individual cares about the common good, about the welfare and concerns of others, that individual finds it easy to avoid running afoul of law enforcement. If an individual is looking to see what he can get away with, testing the gray area, that is when the attention of law enforcement is drawn.
For me, the message is clear. Just be good and be good to other people. Respect property. If it doesn't belong to you then it is not yours to take or use. Get your own stuff and MYOB and you'll be fine. There is no need to be a lawyer to understand what you can get away with and what you can't. Just be good and enjoy life by doing the things that don't draw the attention of law enforcement.
I never could understand people who rent a hotel room and want to have a loud late night party. What. They don't think it is going to bother others? Why should they be entitled to pretend that this would go unnoticed? Do they expect everybody in the nearby rooms who is trying to sleep is going to simply accept this and not call the front desk to complain? And do they think they can just blow off the manager who comes to tell them to shut up? They think they can just keep drinking and partying and laughing out loud, making noise, turning the music back up? Do they think they can do this without further complaints from the people who paid for a place to rest and sleep but are being denied the peace and quiet implicitly paid for? I don't know why they would think that. Surely there will be more phone calls. Surely if they won't shut up the manager is calling the police to evict them in the middle of the night.
I'll never understand why some people are so selfish they think they can have their fun at the expense of others. It's just not logical. Everyone can't do that. Some might be able to for a short time. But they can't do that all the time. It's no way to live. You don't need the law to know that. But we need the law to force some to understand it.
No. Laws are not the problem. We need laws and we need enforcement and we need lawmakers. None of it is perfect or simple. Sure, it's complicated and messy. That's life. Our laws reflect our own imperfections as humans living in a society. We help each other, we hurt each other, we have to sort it all out. And when we do, we advance. Humans advance when they work together and coordinate on things like this. If we didn't, nothing would ever get built.
Are laws a problem? Sure. Are they also a solution? Darn right. Life as a human is complex because we all live in this constantly growing society and new things are always being invented. That's why James Taylor was right when he sang: "The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time." The way to be happy is to find a way to enjoy life without messing with others. Enjoy life while you have the chance. All too soon it will be over.