Human beings have a strange relationship with rules.  Basically, we hate them.  Try to tell someone what they should do, and they’ll most likely insist on doing the opposite, even if it means jumping off a cliff.

Parents know this.  Want your kid to go to bed at 9?  Tell them they can’t go to bed at 9.  They’ll do it just to show you they can.

In the legal system, these rules are called laws.  Societies need them to function, thrive, and basically ensure that we don’t kill each other off.

But whose laws?  Some laws are Federal and passed by the U.S. Congress.  Many more exist at the state level and are enacted by individual State Legislatures.  And that’s where the rub comes in.

Many states chafe at the idea of Federal oversight.  They prefer their own laws, and want nothing to do with the (as they view it) Evil Federal Government—unless, of course, the issue is Federal Aid coming in from another state’s tax dollars.  They insist that decision-making is best done at the local level, and that State Legislatures are better attuned to local needs.  Keep the Feds out of our laws!

Yet in the next instant, these same State Legislatures and Governors who insist that the Federal Government shouldn’t mandate what the state should do, turn around and tell local cities and counties what they can and can’t do. 

Don’t tell me what to do, Washington!  But I can sure tell Blair (if we’re talking about politicians in Lincoln, Nebraska) or Weston (if we’re talking about politicians in Jefferson City, Missouri) what to do.

To say this smacks of hypocrisy would be an understatement.  In state after state, local laws regarding everything from guns to masks to books have been struck down by the same State officials who would throw a fit if Washington were to say the same thing to them.

No question, the U.S. Congress has passed some dumb laws.  Many states, however, have passed laws that are even dumber.  Here’s a quick rundown.

In Florida (of course we have to start with Florida), lab grown meat is now outlawed.  There’s no evidence it’s bad for you in any way, but that doesn’t matter.  Florida still says you can’t have it.

So much for consumer choice.

And there’s more.  This is the same state that once passed a law that would lock up any Doctor who asked parents if they kept a gun in their house.  Something about the First Amendment got that overturned.  We don’t need to go into the “don’t-say-gay” laws, “which-bathroom-you-can-use” laws, “what-you-can’t-teach” laws, and “don’t-see-drag-shows” laws.  In each instance, what an individual Florida city might want for its citizens is irrelevant.  It’s only the State that can decide.

But if you need a C-section, Florida says it’s now perfectly legal to have one performed outside of a hospital.  Sound incredible?  It seems a venture capital group in Great Britain that invests heavily in American outpatient services has more influence in Florida than doctors.  Maybe political contributions play a role.  Regardless, such an asinine law would never pass in the U.K. itself.  So much for the superiority of Florida health care.

What about other states?  Tennessee has a law on the books outlawing “chem-trails”—mind-altering gases released from jets flying over the state.

The problem is, chem-trails don’t exist.  When you see a jet with a white line trailing behind, it’s called a contrail—essentially a linear cloud trailing behind a hot engine speeding along at high-altitude.  It’s nothing new, and has nothing to do with jets.  World War II pilots could spot them trailing behind propellor driven planes, too.

What other nonexistent things could Tennessee ban?  Cell phone calls with extraterrestrials?  Dinner dates with Big Foot?

Don’t try wearing a mask on the streets of North Carolina.  It’s illegal now, health consequences be damned.

Louisiana is considering legislation that would prohibit the state’s motor pool from having more than 3% of its vehicles run by electricity.  What if an EV becomes cheaper, more efficient, and less costly to the taxpayers?  Apparently, that wouldn’t matter.

Wyoming tried to go one better.  There, the Legislature nearly passed a bill outlawing the sale of Electric Vehicles entirely.

In Texas, the Legislature thinks it should tell the state’s Universities what they can and can’t teach when it comes to race relations.  Is quantum physics next?

In Nebraska, a city used to be able to ban weapons in its public spaces.  But no more.  Only the sages in Lincoln can make such decisions.

Oh, and then there’s Iowa.  For over 100 years, Iowa refused to pass a law legalizing the sale of raw (that is, unpasteurized) milk.  The rationale was simple.  Pasteurization kills germs.  Around the world, the process has been credited with helping stamp out tuberculosis and other diseases.

But once the Centers for Disease Control (the dreaded CDC) warned of the dangers of spreading H5N1 Bird Flu in raw milk, the Iowa legislature promptly passed a law legalizing it.  After all, giving a middle finger to Washington is far more important than protecting the lives of Iowans.

I could go on and on.  In state after state, the same legislators who decry being told what do by Washington have no qualms about telling cities and localities what they can do.  Whether it’s restricting voting rights or health care, states suddenly feel empowered to go far beyond the Federal government in telling you how to run your life.

And sometimes, even when the people of the state clearly oppose a law, the Legislature still insists on cramming it down their throats.  Exhibit A is again Nebraska, where the Legislature passed a law allowing tax credits to help fund private schools, even those with clear religious biases.

The people stood up and mounted a massive petition drive to overturn it.

What did the Legislature do when it became obvious that the effort to nullify the law would succeed?  They revoked the law, and immediately passed a slightly altered version of the law that the petition drive hadn’t addressed.

So much for listening to the will of the people. 

As I asked in my last post just who are we in America?  Where are we headed?  A stronger UNITED STATES?  Or a weaker set of STATES who are (sort of) UNITED? I don’t’ know, but perhaps Texas is going to be the trendsetter.  Earlier this year, the Texas Republican party approved a Legislative platform that included Plank 203, which states: “The Texas Legislature should pass a bill in its next session requiring a referendum in the next General Election for the people of Texas to determine whether or not the State of Texas should reassert its status as an independent nation. “

Could this really happen?  Déjà vu Fort Sumpter, 1861?  Who knows?  It would certainly put a smile on the face of every dictator from Budapest to Pyongyang.

But Texas might just be in for a surprise itself.  Despite all its current wealth, ego, and self-righteousness, how long would it be before the Nation of Texas realized that New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Louisianna were building walls at their borders? 

And for those just now reading this post–my apologies. I missed one other important dumb state law, that I’ll add to this post now. In 1993, Alabama banned Yoga from being taught as a part of physical education in K-12 Schools. Recently though, they had second thoughts, and decided maybe Yoga was OK after all.

But not to worry. You’re still not allowed to utter the traditional Yoga greeting “Namaste” in class. Gotta keep those kids from thinking, right?