What should be done about laws that everyone breaks?

[© tweed]

you're thinking of the legal system as if it is perfect.  in reality, it is about the same as everything else we have created; an approximation.  certain enclaves that you can find can lead to conclusions as drawn in the original post, but it is necessary to take a step back.  what does it typically take to be prosecuted for a speeding violation?  around here, the rule of thumb is that anything lower than 70 on a 55 is completely safe, and people do routinely go 75-80 and don't get bothered by cops except in rare instances.

if the speed limit were changed to 70, people would start to go 80 and 85.  and if you want to start enforcing that law, you can, but you're going to need a whole lot more manpower to actually start enforcing a hard speed limit.  another thing: law enforcement is like everything else, in the absence of infinite energy: it has a budget.  in neighboring Nassau County the narc squad or whatever they have hasn't bothered to try to crack down on marijuana or even cocaine/crack, they've just been working on the heroin outbreak or whatever it is for several months.

[© tweed]

yeah I know, I just kind of made that whole thing up.  it's not like my experiences here in this small corner of the world are representative of anything in the grander scheme of everyone else's, and I wouldn't try to predicate an argument upon it.

[© tweed]

The smart sheep were the ones in the herd that stuck together. The dumb sheep were the ones who strayed off the path because they though it was hip and cool--only to be eaten by the wolf.

probably the most pathetic attempted allegory I have ever heard on a variety of levels