Can a law be created which will stop human folly?

Okay, so I’m heading home after a trip up to the post office and the library this afternoon, listening to NPR’s All Things Considered. They were discussing the effort to pass a law in Florida that ‘would prevent another tragedy like the one in Parkland’.

What an interesting idea! I wonder if the politicians will call it ‘The Human Tragedy Prevention Act (HTPA)’?

The politician being interviewed had all the boilerplate rhetoric going - ‘the need for compromise because at the end of the day...etc...’ so on and so forth and ‘we’ve got to protect the children and the schools and need more officers and security doors and... greater funding for mental health...’. Whatever you want. It’s gonna be in the bill... Politicians love to make hay out of tragedies by passing laws they claim will stop them from happening in the future.

The sad feature of the Parkland case is that everyone who worked in that school was well aware of past tragedies that have taken place, numerous times, at other schools. They had no shortage of experienced educators, counselors, mental health people or security.

A large amount of documentation was collected by the school district about Nicholas Cruz’s behavioral problems over several years. Presumably, the well paid educational professionals know what they are doing, understand when they are dealing with a disturbed child and what that child might do when he gets old enough... What kind of law is needed to properly diagnose a child with schizophrenia or a personality disorder (psychopathy) so he can be entered into the database that prevents a gun purchase from happening later?

Failing that, what about the individuals who knew him personally and heard him talk about what he was going to do? He even announced it on social media - which the FBI knew about as well...

What kind of law should be passed to get people to do what is necessary to stop someone they KNOW is disturbed, has purchased weapons, and says he is preparing to do violence?

Not too long ago, there was a hurricane that hit New Orleans called Katrina. The city performed a simulated drill a couple years prior, for a theoretical storm that was almost exactly the same as the one which came later. A great deal of money was spent on this simulation. (Many storms have hit NO in the past. It is a city that is actually located below sea level.)

When Katrina showed up on the horizon, thanks to satellite and mass communication technology, everyone in the city was given advance warning of upwards of 72, 48, 24 hours. But the evacuation did not go as planned. Anyone healthy enough and with an ounce of sense knew they should leave. And yet, many who could have gotten out CHOSE to stay - a lot of them had hurricane parties...

So, despite the history, despite the preparation, despite the warnings and clear factual knowledge of what was coming, a human tragedy happened anyway...

What law can be written that will prevent human folly? How much money do you spend trying to enforce such a law?

The drug problem is another area. There has been no shortage, over the last 50 years, of resources committed to education and information on the pitfalls of drug usage (and dealing) as well as the criminal penalties that go with it. Large numbers of people have been thrown in jail. Lives have been ruined... It is generally understood that getting involved with drugs is a BAD idea. And yet, the drug problem is worse than ever. What new laws should be passed to get people to stop using heroine, meth, cocaine, etc...? Should we expand the police state further, maybe pass a law that requires everyone receive an implant at birth which monitors their bodies to make certain no illicit substance ever enters their system? The resources to do this are available. The government has the ability to print whatever we need to pay for the endeavor to become ‘drug free’...

I tried to look up the number of laws that are in the federal register but couldn’t come up with an accurate figure because the number is so large and the accompanying regulations actually makes it impossible to know with any degree of accuracy. It is, of course, an incredibly large but limited number. Even so, it might as well be considered infinite because no individual could possibly comprehend the array of laws he’s expected to follow in the US.

So, what’s another law gonna do for us? Will it get people to act rationally when it matters? Will it produce good judgement in a timely manner?

Can a law compel people to operate in good faith?