garret points to Crematory Case Highlights Gaps in Oversight of Funeral Business and makes the comment: “once again, business cannot be counted on to ‘do the right thing’; oversight and regulation are required for all industries.” [garret never uses capital letters online, I think his shift key is broken.] I always get a laugh when I read comments like his, which is not say that I disagree with him about the need for greater regulation. We get two opposing forces moving strongly here though; in my mind I see two John Henrys grasping the ends of a thick metal chain with their legs digging deeper and deeper into the ground as each tries to pull the chain in his direction. One force is the desire to ensure goodness by passing more laws and setting up more watchdog groups.
On the other side is the propensity of some small percentage of the population (5%? 10%? I can’t really say with any precision) to not abide by these laws, due to greed, ego, or psychosis. Many religious people would say this latter group is held in thrall by Satan and demonstrates the need for for more prayer and churchgoing. But of course I’m not a religious person in that sense, far from it, so I won’t. I will say to garret and those with similar views that throughout history laws have been passed and policeman of various ilk hired in greater numbers over these years and yet these misbehavers are still with us and still getting away with their deeds. Some are indeed caught and sometimes punished but I would point out that in each case the bad act had already been committed. So despite all the laws and the ever larger policing forces, some people are not deterred from their bad acts and if you add more laws and more police, they will still not be deterred. Still, I am not in the least saying we should forget about laws and police. I am saying that no one over the age of 12 ought to be surprised when another Robert Tulloch and Jimmy Parker, or Michael Francis Brown, or Kenneth Lay, or Ted Kaczynski violates one law or another.
BillSaysThis 