While this is unarguably true, isn't that part of the price we pay for living in a "civilized" society?

If I am in the habit of driving at 100 MPH down your road, you might fear that I will lose control of the vehicle and hit one of your children or damage your property. So, you petition for a "Speed Limit" sign to be placed there to force me to slow down to a safe speed. (And yes, I remember that in Texas, only commercial vehicles are bound by Speed Limit laws according to your posts from a year or two ago, so pretend I am in my Home Depot delivery truck driving at breakneck speeds down your road.) You have taken one of my liberties, dammit, but you feel safer. It's a trade off.

And then on a too-breezy day, you burn some brush on your property and the fire gets out of hand. Next thing I know, my own house or barn are on fire. So, I petition for a law that burning brush on breezy days is outlawed. I've taken away one of your liberties, dammit, but know my house won't burn again because of your carelessness. It's a trade-off for living in a "civilized" society, isn't it?

That being said, I agree that lawmakers have taken "lawmaking" to an extreme. After all, if laws are not being made, then they don't have jobs, do they...?!?!?

But, lawmakers can't take all the blame, at least not directly. Stores not being able to sell beer on Sunday is the fault of Christian lobbyists trying to force their beliefs down everyone's throats. Not being able to build a shed on my own property without a building permit plus government inspection is the fault of the building-materials lobbyists, to make sure I don't use scrap but buy costly, new materials from them. Actually, it is the lobbyists that make most of today's newer laws and twist their puppet-lawmakers' arms to pass them, as that is how the system really works nowadays.

But, aren't some of the more basic laws simply to be sure we remain civilized and not harm one another through human carelessness? If so, some of the laws are actually giving us the liberty of having peace-of-mind. Just a thought...