Culture vs. Laws.

why is the sky blue?

Rural more full of laws and a police state? Not the way I see it. To me as population density increases the less freedom you are allowed to have. A California city just banned smoking in apartment buildings. People aren't. Allowed to smoke in their own living room. In Park County I can pee off my porch and still have an outhouse.

:crossed:

Ok I agree Park County sucks. The most oppressive uninformed county I have ever lived in. The Sheriff's dept is something out of Nazi Germany, designing their own laws as they go along.

So how did you find this community?

I have only had a few encounters with Park County law enforcement and I got the vibe more from Barney Fife than Stasi. But congrats on finding a place with more freedom.

on that note wrote: ................
What this place does have is a lot of older well established families and community culture.

I have come to the determination in recent years whilst living there that it is this culture that we have allowed to slip or move away in many communities and we have replaced it with govt culture and police. I think the police state of Park County exemplifies this, next to no crime, tons of police and a bunch of big govt republicans running the show, inside your home and out.

I think religion and culture are the opposite of big govt and when you have big govt, you must give up religion and culture. They are all tools for showing others how to behave. I just have to say, in this area anyway, the culture is saving the folks huge sums of money and liberty.
What say you about religion and culture vs. larger govt institutions?

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I agree with your thoughts. I do think it would be a tad more accurate to say we "give up religion and culture" as it previously existed.

I think that generally governments start out formalizing what religion and culture already accept. I am pretty sure it was culturally unacceptable to eat you parents long before it became illegal.

No culture lasts forever and we might be approaching our shelf life. I was going to ask you where you live until I got to your last post.

I agree with Fred, it's a result of increased population. The bigger the population, the bigger the government and the more people who seek power over the lives of others. I left the area in 82 when there were still very few cops anywhere unless you needed one (obviously slow to arrive). I used to hiitch hike everywhere (is that still legal?). Now when I visit my sister I usually see two or three cops along the way. I used to have a strong desire to move back, but I'm having second thoughts based on what I see happened up there. It's still better than in the metro area, but it's losing the freedoms that set it so far apart from the city. I guess I lived in the best times up there and I didn't need a Safeway,a Starbucks, or someone telling me what trees I could cut on my own property.

Culture & Religion Vs Laws?

When you have insular small communities where everyone grows up with the same unwritten rules and face social isolation for deviating, police aren't as necessary. Religion is often the same throughout the community or only a couple of options and it tends to be more important.

Nowdays athiesm and non-participating adults and children aren't recieving the same instruction in moral codes.

Does a family have to be religious to teach morality or raise moral children? I don't think so. I think morality is so much more than just a teaching of religion.