You know what? I am convinced that people are incapable of rational thought sometimes. The Gulf Of Mexico oil disaster is the latest thing to demonstrate my point. You have many conservative people who run around stating that they want the government to keep its nose out of the affairs of the people. Those SAME people are now running around talking about how we need more regulation over companies drilling for oil offshore to avoid disasters like the one unfolding in the gulf now. Which is it people? You can’t have it both ways!

People need to realize that the government plays an extremely important role in regulating things because it is NECESSARY! Almost every single thing the government regulates came out of some disaster that people were outraged about. Yet, most people don’t get it. Think about insurance mandates - even though they are mandated at the state government level. Why do you think you have to have underinsured/uninsured motorists coverage? It is because people were being hit by poor people who could not afford to pay for the damages they caused. What was the result? Regulation. Why must buildings be built using certain codes in California and Florida? What happened - earthquakes and hurricanes happened. What was the result? Regulation. This oil disaster is going to likely result in billions in cleanup costs. What is going to happen? Regulation. Women could not get legal abortions in this country and many died trying to obtain illegal ones. In addition to other supporting events, what was the result? Regulation. Do you get the picture?

People think that less government would be better, but this isn’t the wild, wild west. I’m not saying that governments on the local, state or federal level are perfect - they are far from it. However, the alternative isn’t great either. Imagine what people would do if there were no regulations governing their actions. For some reason, some conservatives like to think that people would not abuse their “power”, but history has shown us over and over and over again that they would. Look at the national park system. People were cutting trees, damaging the areas and polluting the areas until a national system was created - and regulated - so that people would have rules governing their actions. People don’t do well without rules. We may want to think that they would, but they won’t.

What if there were no police officers? What if there were no doctors who were required to treat certain people? What if there were no rules governing what could be shipped on airplanes? Can you imagine the anarchy? I can. History tells us all about it. It would be one thing if everyone agreed to be civil and consider others around them, but people WON’T do that. They simply won’t. They will do what they want to do as long as it benefits them. They will build things without safety in mind. They will pollute the environment without caring about the repercussions. They will intentionally do what they want without regard.

Want another example? Look at smoking. Many states have enacted regulations preventing smoking in public places. You know what? There are people who were ANGRY about this! They wanted the “right” to smoke where they wanted, whenever they wanted to do so. It doesn’t matter to them that second hand smoke causes cancer. It doesn’t matter to them if other people have physical problems with their smoke. They want to smoke and they don’t care who it hurts. You had/have people who have railed against the law in the news because they believe it would “hurt their businesses”. What? You mean to tell me that you are more concerned about your business than about the people dying from second hand smoke? You see my point?

Some people don’t really care about how the things they do effect others. They just want to do what they want to do. A lot of people would really have a hard time if other people did not have rules and regulations - sadly, they just don’t realize it. No taxes sounds great until you realize that the military, our police, our highway infrastructure and our schools depend on that tax money. Is the system perfect? Again, I say no - there are some problems. However, those problems aren’t bigger than the problems that there would be if there were no regulations. Less regulation in this day and age is very, very stupid. Some people, unfortunately, really need to be told what to do or they won’t do the right thing. How sad….