I was thinking about the nature of government while I was shoveling off the end of the drive on the day after the most recent snowfall. How did this come about? The city, as always, plowed about six inches of wet snow onto the driveway’s apron. Not fun. Ever. But it did get me to thinking.
Why does the city get away with doing such a thing? Why can they zip down the street in their plows and bury the last few feet of my driveway with snow? Why can they do the same to the sidewalk? Believe me, every winter the city tells residents not to put any snow back into the street. Ok for them to put snow on my drive. Not ok for me to put snow in the street.
Not being an idiot, I can see why they don’t want snow in the street. All in all, a reasonable request, but I can’t turn around and ask the same of them. (Of course, this does get to a technical problem: would a private street owner be able to prevent this problem? But I digress, this is a philosophical rant.) In short, it is a situation of “do as I say, not as I do.”
Is this the nature of government? Does it prohibit us—the governed— from doing what it does?
If you answered no, please ponder this question: What would happen if you told your neighbor he owed you 5% of his earnings, payable before he ever saw his paycheck? What would happen if you then managed to do that?
Oh the things I think about when shoveling.
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