Quote Originally Posted by JMS View Post
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Originally Posted by JMS
[I][COLOR=Blue]Man, this thread eats me up! I am not sure a single person got what I was trying to say except maybe you!
There is something intangible that I can't seem to get across to my fellow man!
Each man is self absorbed until he matures, then he becomes thoughtful and self policing! I believe all governments. with the exception of the most minimalistic government, by their very nature stand in the way of this process. It doesn't serve the purpose of government to have self regulated individuals because then they would have little if any power. Man has a dual nature. government and other self serving individuals wish to bring out the lesser more selfish nature. I was trying to point out that we all have a greater or higher nature from which we all should strive to operate from!!

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I definitely agree. Government is a "one size fits all" institution by its very nature - there's a very fine balancing act between directing a nation at a group level yet allowing individual freedom, even if individuals are rational and self-policing (and act that way!), IMO.

And maybe this is my Economics degree flash-backing on me, but "rational" individuals, depending on their motivations, will exploit definitions and rules to their benefit. This in turn can highlight flaws in rules and reg.s leading to modifications and ammendments etc. etc. setting up an almost catch 22 scenario (or at least ironic) where, by acting rationally, we induce conditions that limit our abiity to act rationally and we end up as a "nanny state". And that's not even considering the completely irrational things some people can do - like thinking you can go make a cup of tea after you've put your Winnebago in cruise control in the middle of a freeway.... Well, that's my take on it anyway - I'm a bit hamstrung by my educational background, I think.

All I really know is that, even for the relatively short period I've been a mature adult (I think it kicked in last week ) I've been bombarded with what appears to be an exponentially increasing number of forms, rules, etc. to do anything - and it's an affront to your intelligence, or at least some of it is. Most public servants in Australia are apologetic about it if you point it out, but they still make you jump through the hoops.

James.