"We civilized freedom 'til no one was free..."

Those brilliant lyrics came from a rather goofy 1969 movie musical called Paint Your Wagon. How goofy? Those lyrics were sung by tough-guy actor Lee Marvin; Clint Eastwood sang in that movie as well!

As lightweight of a film as Paint Your Wagon was, this line about civilizing freedom out of existence has a lot of truth to it. In that vein, Professor Walter Williams wrote a wonderful column this week about what happens when laws replace common customs and courtesy as the civilizing force in society. For example:

Behavior accepted as the norm today would have been seen as despicable yesteryear. There are television debt relief advertisements that promise to help debtors to pay back only half of what they owe. Foul language is spoken by children in front of and sometimes to teachers and other adults. When I was a youngster, it was unthinkable to use foul language to an adult; it would have meant a smack across the face. Back then, parents and teachers didn't have child-raising "experts" to tell them that "time out" is a means of discipline. Baby showers are held for unwed mothers. Yesteryear, such an acceptance of illegitimacy would have been unthinkable....

Amen!

Good Day to You, Sir