All the Kings Men
All the laws in the world don't mean anything if most people don't voluntarily follow them. This is because there just aren't enough police to catch every last person who doesn't pay their taxes, or always runs a red light, or who routinely speeds at 25mph over the speed limit, or burglarize homes, or commit rape, murder, or other mayhem.
There are thousands of other laws, important and not so important to follow with legislatures adding hundreds more per year. Hence, if the great majority of people don't voluntarily refrain from breaking these laws, society as we know it falls apart.
Yes, I know there are people out there that feel there shouldn't be any laws. But fortunately, for the rest of us, they are a small minority. All you have I to do is point to countries in Africa/Asia/Europe/Middle East where the law has no meaning to illustrate the point.
But lately, it seems to me, our state, if not our country, is getting close to reaching a point of no return. A point which, once crossed, will move us into a territory full of worst case scenarios.
Some of the signs are small. Like more and more people ignoring stop lights or stop signs. But some are larger, like people openly taking on the police rather than running when officers arrive to break up fights. Like the police themselves taking the law into their own hands and meteing out a swift justice with their fists.
It's like a veil of restraint has been removed and we are left with the law of the jungle to govern over us.
We do indeed live in darks times and, I fear, the times just got a lot darker.