Some questions about America, mainly for Americans.?

Question

It is really hard to put this question in a way that nobody feels offended, but please bear in mind, I mean no offence with it. Basically, I came to America two months ago, and although generally I've had pleasant experiences, there are things which bother me a lot. One is hypocrisy. It is amazzing how people pretend to respect the law. Whenever I talk to people (or read Yahoo answers) I hear "don't drink alcohol when you're 15, because it's ILLEGAL". Not because you're more likely to have alcohol problems later if you get used to drinking at a young age. "Don't have sex when you're 15, because it's ILLEGAL". Not because you'll get pregnant and your childhood will be screwed up. I'm a student pilot, and I often hear "don't fly in the clouds when you are not rated for instrument flying, because it's ILLEGAL". Not because you will die. In short, everything that is wrong is wrong because it's illegal. They don't care why it's illegal. Can somebody explain this to me?

Answer 1

It is a shortcut. Supposedly, we have a state that is separate from religion, so the law cannot use any sort of religious morality as a reason for it's existence.

Not everyone shares the same values. Some people, adults even, think it is ok to have sex with 15 year olds. Our laws are somewhat like the Christian 10 Commandments -- to make people behave in a somewhat civilized way, even if they are incapable of of deciding right from wrong on their own.

Answer 2

Excellent question.

I believe the extreme leftists of the country is at fault for that. They have this "don't tell us what to do" mentality regardless of whether it's good for us or not.

Most Americans are are moderate or right down the middle of the two extremes and understand why things are "illegal"

Individual rights are precious to the average American therefore, most of us put with the undesirable actions of others. Why, because it's better than living in a country that takes it to the other extreme.