How to Prevent Bad Laws

 Our society is obsessed with voting and passing laws.  Supposedly voting 
magically makes everything alright.  Whatever the majority wants, everyone 
else must live with.  This is garbage.  How would you like to have to eat the 
one and only breakfast approved by a majority?
 
 Having that one and only majority mandated breakfast, served only at the 
majority mandated time, would lead to endless strife over what to eat and when 
to eat.  It would also generate a black market in other kinds of breakfasts.
 
 A law is an order.  Those passing and enforcing the law say “Do it our 
way, or we will hurt you.”  A law not backed by force and threats of force 
isn't a law, it is a joke.  We can't change the violent nature of laws.  We 
can make it more difficult for lawmakers to invoke the use of force to control 
others.

 Why should a mere 51 percent be allowed to resort to the use of force 
against 49 percent?  Sometimes the use of force is justified.  Murders should 
be forced to stop.  Does anyone believe murder would be legal merely because 
we required a two-thirds majority to pass laws?

 Why shouldn't we require at least a two-thirds majority to pass any law?  
Why shouldn't those who want to resort to the use of force and threats have to 
convince at least two-thirds that such use of force is justified?

 Requiring super majority approval to repeal a law would be a disaster.  We 
need to make it easier to repeal bad laws.  Let the opponents of a law 
petition for reconsideration of any law.  If on reconsideration the law fails 
to gain super majority approval it would cease to be a law.

 This will not end all exploitive and abusive laws.  It will drastically 
cull the herd.  Few laws beyond basic laws against force and violence such as 
murder, robbery, arson, rape, etc. ever had two-thirds support.  Even fewer 
still have such support.

 Consider Obama Care.  It squeaked through by a vote or two.  It never came 
close to having two-thirds support.  Obama Care would be dead and all but 
forgotten if it had needed two-thirds approval.  Even if it had passed it 
would now be repealed by failure to gain approval on reconsideration.

 Most of the special interest strife in this country is over special 
privileges granted, or sought to be granted, by laws that didn't or couldn't 
ever come close to gaining super majority support.  We would have a far more 
peaceful and less divided nation if we eliminated the possibility of a mere 
majority passing any law.

 Deprived of using the political means to exploit their neighbors, 
individuals would have to resort to the only means still available.  They 
would have to use persuasion, rewards and voluntary cooperation to pursue 
their goals.   They would no longer be able to resort to “Do it my way, or I 
will hurt you.” 

 There are only two things that should be subject to voting.  The first is 
laws against all forms of aggression where the law must be enforced with force 
and violence.  The second is matters where circumstances dictate that everyone 
must accept the same choice.  There are very few things that fall into the 
latter class.

 What to eat for breakfasts, which school to attend, and the size of soft 
drinks aren't included on the list.  People get along better and accomplish 
more when they aren't endlessly threatened with “Do it my way, or I will hurt 
you.”

 The federal government alone has enacted about 200,000 pages of “Do it may 
way, or I will hurt you.”  And, you are presumed to know, and are required to 
obey, every one of them.  Requiring at least two-thirds approval to keep these 
laws might shorten your reading list.  You do read and understand all the laws 
you are ordered to obey, don't you?

aldmccallum@gmail.com
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Copyright 2013
Albert D. McCallum