You Can’t Legislate Responsibility
As I read “A Call to Action” by Angela Daly, I was expecting to read a passion-filled and logical argument, but I was extremely disappointed. I completely agree with all the facts that Daly writes in order to support her opinion. The problem with her argument is that the argument itself is completely and absolutely unenforceable. She may have just as well have written that people who make dumb decisions about their own lives should be punished for being stupid.
Daly uses great logos to back her argument, however she never addresses the real issue. Being responsible with a cell phone in the car is no different than being responsible with the car radio. I had a friend who was involved in a fatal car crash because his radio was playing too loudly for him to hear the train whistle blow. He made an irresponsible decision to play the radio too loudly, but you can’t make a law that states, “You can’t have any noise while you drive.” When a person gets behind the wheel, he or she knows in the back of his or her mind that they are taking a huge risk. I can assure Ms Daly that there are many more things than just cell phones that can distract a driver. With technology continuing to advance in the automotive industry, a person has many more things take his or her attention away from the road.
The problem lies within the enforceability of the proposed law. You cannot legislate responsibility as it pertains to choice. We have already done this to a certain extent with helmet laws for bikers. There are many more pressing issues that our government should be focusing on rather than trying to remove another freedom that we, as Americans currently enjoy. If laws such as this are allowed to pass, you can certainly count the days until your next freedom is removed, and then the next. Finally you will wake up one morning and wonder, “How did I end up in a communist country again?” For it is the little things like these types of laws, those that go for the most part unnoticed, that lead the country down a path that our founding fathers never intended.
11 comments:
AJ, in the first paragraph, being punished for being stupid? That's crazy! The problem with everyone is the fact that people think everything and everyone has to be perfect. It doesn't work that way. Life is not fair nor perfect. Every decision we make, have made, and will make will not always be right. We have to count our blessings and hope tomorrow is a better day.
I agree with you when you say that there are more things than just cell phones that can distract a driver but Daly's essay is only focused on cell phones being a fatal distraction and the law being taken too lightly on those that cause fatal accidents on the roads.
I also disagree with you when you say that "there are many more pressing issues that our government should be focusing on rather than trying to remove another freedom that we, as Americans currently enjoy." This issue is just as important as anything else because people's lives are at risk when they are on the highway.
I'm afraid I disagree with you, AJ. Driving is an extremely serious issue, and that's why we cannot trust only on the responsibility and good sense of the people. There must be laws concerning each and everything that represents a risk to the safe driving, such as using cell phones or listening to loud music. When responsibility fails, law must take action.
I disagree with you AJ because when we are behind the wheel we have to understand that the others are playing with the radio or trying to find their phones.
And at the same time we have to understand that we have to look out for ourselves and the other drivers also.
I agree with Ana. Driving is a big issue. When we go out to drive eveyday there is a risk, but we have been brought up to just trust the other drivers. There should be serious consequences to getting in a accident because of being on the cell phone.
I agree with AJ, there are multiple things that can distract a driver. Cell phone are becoming a huge cause of wrecks these days and need to be turned off while driving.
I believe you all are not understanding my point for this blog. My whole point for this blog is to show that Daly's essay didn't address the situation correctly. A question for all who have posted, but you don't have to answer because your answer is going to contradict your comments: "Who is going to stop using cell phones just because there is a law in place?"
Well AJ, i would assume that the police would pull people over and ticket those who are seen using a cell phone while driving, but of course this is a bad assumption because you wouldn't get caught often. So to answer your question I believe only a few would stop using cell phones while driving. The law would almost nothing.
Aj you right probally no one will stop talking on their cell phone if a law was placed its just like the seat belt ticket its a law but does everyone wear one just cause it is a law
I agree with Tyler on this one. It would be hard for cops to catch people.
It's pretty rare that you even see cops around the highway, much less pulling people over.
Just look at the speeding laws. People break these laws on a daily basis, but many of them don't get caught.
I believe that AJ presents a fairly good argument. Responsibility plays a major role while driving. Some people are responsible and coordinated enough to drive the vehichle safely and talk on the phone. However for some, it is too much to ask to operate the car-radio and drive at the same time.
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