This is a response to a 10 year old boys vigilante movement to end speeding in Park City by posting home made slow down signs around his neighborhood and asking others to do the same.
Dear editor,
I would like to offer a word of caution to young Cameron Gallagher: don’t become a fascist. In a police state, all citizens police each other and ultimately internalize the law and unthinkingly police themselves. In a free society, citizens use reason and persuasion to make choices that they believe will benefit society at large. People should think for themselves and not use the law to do their thinking for them. For a free person, “because it’s the law” is never a sufficient response.
Why do we follow the speed limit? Is it because the sign tells us how fast to drive and nothing more? Or is it because we want kids to feel safe on their bikes and on foot? If it is the former, we will only obey when we think we might get caught and constantly push the limits. If it is the latter, a more rational approach to driving is the result. Speed limits are arbitrary, road conditions are not.
Side note: The police department issued 2733 tickets in 2008. If my last ticket of $85.00 is a good measure, the city collected at least $232,305. Use this money for sidewalks, every penny. For government rates this would probably buy 10 feet of sidewalk. Hire me and my friends and we’ll put sidewalks along every road in Park City with this money. Why isn’t Park City the world leader in bike paths?
I trust that Cameron’s movement is a response to a failure in the way that laws are obeyed and enforced in our society. He’s not saying drive slow all the time, he’s saying drive appropriately. I trust that he’s not doing the police department’s dirty work; he’s doing his neighborhood’s bidding. To P.C. drivers: use Cameron’s inspiration to become an empowered driver. Use reason and don’t blindly follow speed limit signs only when someone is looking.
Cameron, keep up the good work and don’t become a fascist.
Kellen McAffee
Old Town
