Sorry- this is a topic we have been working on at the Farm. It ties into everything that is going on, but in the words of a recent candidate for high office, “At this point what difference does it make?”

Well, here is how. The Three Felonies story dates back aways, and was one of the first things we noticed a while back in an attempt to capture one of the ways America was changing. We have no association with a guy named Harvey Silverglate. In fact, based on the personal experience of The Writer’s Section, any involvement with legal professionals has been both expensive and unpleasant.

Silverglate’s book outlined what he observed as a litigator in the system. In that context he contended that the sheer pile of laws, rules and regulations was so vast and so daunting that the average professional, male or female, or any of the imaginary genders now popular, committed three violations of law daily without even knowing about it. Which essentially had created a de facto situation in which lawless behavior was the norm, and a standard by which any of us, should we come to the attention of the authorities, could be ruined financially and sometimes wind up in the slammer for something done routinely in simple ignorance.

The Section considered that surreal at the time, highlighted by the 2008 Recession at which we marveled in the collapse of a failed social policy. By that of course we meant a system designed to provide what some were calling “equity.” I am sure you remember the bartender who was flipping houses with multiple loans that in rational times would not have qualified for a single one.

We have advanced considerably from that point. The mass of law and regulation has grown to the point that our Congress now passes single bills consisting of thousands of pages that even the legislators have not read. If you were not aware of a recent example, our group discovered that the Secretary of Transportation has been tasked by law to provide a new and undebated regulation that enables the State to require a remote ‘off switch’ for all our automobiles.

That could be a topic worth considering. We are generally opposed to unsafe driving, a habit which seems to have increased dramatically since the pandemic restrictions began. We also agree that impaired driving- either by traditional means of alcohol abuse or the new threat of powerful drugs floating with unrestricted access across an undefended border. You would think that matter would be worth discussion, both in cause and effect. Instead, it just became law because of some other crisis was too important to slow down and consider what was in the other 2,400 pages of legal fact.

So, the topic has moved relentlessly beyond the matter that we have established a new system layered atop the old onew in which most citizens tried to obey the laws passed by our elected representatives. At least the ones we were aware of.

The legal circus that followed the previous President cemented the idea that our system of justice no longer functioned the way it had even a decade ago. A dramatic change has been instituted that has left us not knowing what is unlawful. It was in the commercial turmoil after the Recession in 2008 that we ran across Silverglate’s book “Three Felonies A Day.” The key contention is summed up this way:

“The average professional in this country wakes up in the morning, goes to work, comes home, eats dinner, and then goes to sleep, unaware that he or she has likely committed several federal crimes that day.”

This is a description of a social system breaking down.

We are seeing it happening in Canada over the truck protest in Ottawa. Their Prime Minister has resurrected an ancient law not previously imposed to do all sorts of things. None of them- confiscation of bank accounts, social prohibitions on what are essentially peaceful disagreements on public health policy- are now criminal behavior.

None would have passed in the current Canadian Parliament. But this is what Emergency Rule is like. I hope we enjoy the ride, because this could never have been imagined without debate and a national unity that does not exist.

We will revisit this issue as long as we are permitted to do so, not because we want to overthrow a government. We just don’t recall voting for this new system. But that is another area that appears to have some unanswered questions, you know?

As things stand today, even calling attention to legitimate questions under peaceful circumstances may already be a felony. It is still early in the day, so circumstances may change before lunch. We don’t want to let our list of felonies against laws we have not heard of get too long. For now, and before any distilled products clarify our thoughts, we reiterate our support for the law. We just have some questions about what it is.

Copyright 2022 Vic Socotra
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