Does this guy think he can make 33 percent of the country criminals with a stroke of the pen?
I do believe the tally of America’s unintentional criminals is, and has been for a long time, considerably more than 33% of the total pop. Most people don’t have the stamina to remain crime-free in this brave new world that has such exciting new laws in it. Who’s got the time to keep up to date on the latest prohibitions, especially when they can vary so crazily from one place to another?
So the challenge is not to avoid even newer oppressions, or even to stay current on the ones we already sigh under – if sighing about oppressive acts hasn’t been declared criminal in itself, which I don’t know.
No. The challenge is to learn to relax and enjoy your criminal status, for in so doing you embrace a time-honored American tradition. When the King’s men prohibited goods from being manufactured in this country and taxed the hell out of the ones our ancestors imported, half the nation gleefully turned to smuggling. After a successful revolution was betrayed and the government of the new nation taxed the hell out of what was left, that pretty much converted the other half.
We are a nation of “criminals,” and always have been. Those who pride themselves on how “law-abiding” they are, are living either in denial or in a sheep-like state of fear for which I do not envy them. Go on with your life, do no harm to innocents, and don’t get worked up about the chance that you absently broke some abusive law. That’s what they’re for.
Indeed… Folks new to Wyoming are always asking me if this or that is “legal” and does it require a permit. I’ll leave to your imagination what I’m asked about most often. I just smile and tell them not to worry about it and never to ask “permission.” If they don’t do anything stupid, and keep their mouth shut, nobody much is going to CARE what they do.
Life is just too short to wade through all that crap.
That is a large part of what is wrong with this country anymore. People have forgotten how good it feels to stiff The Man anymore.
It doesn’t matter how goody two shoes ya are, you break too many laws to count every day after you walk out your front door. Learn to embrace it!
Just remember the Grey Man Principle……
I am quite happy to be a criminal in my own small ways. I guess adding another felony or two to the list won’t be a big deal. I do hope it doesn’t affect my amatuer status though.