There oughta be a law

There oughta be a law. People say it all the time, and some of the time people charged with making laws actually create one. But most of the time, the battle cry shouldn’t be for a law. It should be for neighbors to behave in more neighborly fashion.

A personal nit involves people parking directly across from other cars on narrow city streets. Many towns have laws prohibiting it because of how it renders streets into one-lane roads, often too narrow for snowplows, street sweepers, fire engines, and ambulances.

The rule that’s really needed is the Golden Rule. You don’t want to have to drive down an obstacle course that forces you to stop to let approaching vehicles go through. So why not walk a few more steps and park a couple of spaces away from any vehicle parked on the other side of the street?

People seem worried these days about whether new trash pickup rules in Marion might impose odious requirements on how they put out their garbage. But did you know that Marion already has a rule requiring that all trash be placed inside closed and latched containers?

A trip down a mile of streets this week found that less than 10% actually follow that rule. Garbage day has become what city raccoons celebrate as a weekly feast day.

People also are concerned whether the city should continue to ban pitbulls and the like. To be sure, there are plenty of loving pitbulls who make great pets. But you have to wonder why a pitbull owner decided to get a pitbull in the first place.

Pet experts warn that their aggressive tendencies are hard to break and recommend that only highly experienced pet owners select pitbulls.

The problem isn’t so much with the breed as it is with why owners sought that animal in the first place. Many wanted a dog that would be seriously threatening to others. Such desires are likely to imprint on the animal.

Commonsense, neighborliness, a spirit of polite compromise to live in a civilized environment — rather than a Wild West where anything goes — solve this problem better than any law.

Many people — this writer included — own firearms. Mine haven’t been used in probably 50 years. Several are antiques — souvenirs of wars and of the days when prairie chickens, quail, rabbits, and the like outnumbered deer and were welcome game.

That’s fine. No one needs to take them away, assuming they’re stored safely. But the person who buys an assault rifle for the sole purpose of being seen as important and powerful in some routine situation doesn’t need a gun — not when the number we need when threatened is 911, not 9mm.

We are a nation of laws, and contrary to the belief of public officials who think they can freely ignore them unless someone challenges them in court, we don’t need laws so much as we need understanding and compassion for each other.

Civilization is built upon civility. Next time you listen to some talking head from Washington or Topeka, do some mental math and consider whether the voice is adding to or subtracting from what makes civilization work. Then listen to your own words. Are you part of the problem or part of the solution?

— ERIC MEYER