Shortly after returning from our vacation, Uncle Peter sat down and wrote out our community's first sixteen official laws. I corrected his horrible spelling, and in gratitude, he allowed me to write law number seven. Some of his laws no longer applied to our world while others were silly or heavy handed.
One might say Uncle Peter's laws were flawed and full of rookie mistakes. But that's what he was: a rookie.
1st Great Law: Freedom From Religion... While people are free to be religious, they are not free to express religion in public. All praying must be done in private and out of hearing range of non-religious people. All attempts to indoctrinate a child into a religion, until they are eighteen years of age, are illegal. All money (or goods) paid (or donated) to religious institutions, religious leaders, or employees of religious institutions are to be taxed 100%. If God wants this law changed, she can travel backwards in time to change it.
2nd Great Law: Democratic Voting... Democratic elections are to be held annually starting exactly twenty years after the peak. At which time, a community leader will be elected. After that time, the role of community leader will only be to enforce laws and mitigate disputes. It will NOT be the role of community leader to change, write, nor interpret laws. That right belongs to the voters.
3rd Great Law: Voting Rights For All... All literate people have the right to vote, regardless of age. If you can read, you can vote. All people above the age of eighteen have the right to vote, regardless if they are literate.
4th Great Law: Separation of Money and Power... A person can either choose to be rich OR powerful. They can not be both. The top 1% of wealthy people are forbidden from holding office or influencing government in any way, other than by casting their own vote.
5th Great Law: Multiple Voting... If, during an election, more than one candidate is appealing to a voter, a voter may choose to vote for more than one candidate.
6th Great Law: Negative Voting... If, during an election, no candidates are to a voter's liking, the voter can cast a negative vote against the candidate he dislikes the most. In the unlikely event that all candidates have negative total votes, the election is to be held over again with all new candidates.
7th Great Law: Freedom From P.E.... Physical Education classes are optional.
8th Great Law: Marijuana Names... All varieties of marijuana must be given two-worded names that insult the infamous Jeannie Purrin before they can be advertised or sold.
9th Great Law: No Patents... It's good to know how the world works and to apply that knowledge for good uses. All the knowledge of the universe and all the power that it bestows is of intrinsic value to everyone, and one must share that knowledge and allow it to be applied. That being true, no one is allowed to patent an invention, technique, drug, idea, device, or discovery. There shall be no monopoly on knowledge.
10th Great Law: No Lawyers... No one is allowed to make a profession out of manipulating the law on behalf of another. All money earned in such a way is forfeit.
11th Great Law: No Lobbyists... No one is allowed to make a profession out of manipulating the government on behalf of another. All money earned in such a way is forfeit.
12th Great Law: No Prohibition... While government may regulate recreational drugs and prostitution, they may not outlaw it.
13th Great Law: No Hitting... It is illegal to intentionally strike, cause pain, or physically harm another person. This includes the physical punishment of children.
14th Great Law: Guns are Not a Right... The government has full authority to regulate any device or substance whose primary function is to kill and destroy. To be absolutely clear: Gun ownership is NOT a protected right.
15th Great Law: Corporations are not people... Individual people have rights. Businesses, corporations, and other such organizations do not.
16th Great Law: Land Ownership... All land owned by people who died in the agoraphobia outbreak, now, and forever, belongs to the government. The government generates revenue from renting portions of that land to individuals.
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The day after Uncle Peter revealed his list of 16 great laws, I overheard Grandpa Kevin speaking to Nichole: "So what if Peter is a 'dictator'?! He's an AWFULLY nice one if he is. He's not demanding huge gold statues to be cast in his honor. He didn't rename the country 'Petertobia'. He has not instituted jus primae noctis. He has not declared himself 'king' nor 'president for life'. And he works his ass off to keep us all fed and comfortable. Lets be pragmatic - if this community was a TRUE democracy, we would probably all be starving by now."
"I don't doubt that your son has been carefully shepherding our community." admitted Nichole. "I'm just saying that the sheep sometimes have better ideas."
[What laws would you have created in Peter's place?]
[Please remember to vote for this chapter.] :D
YOU ARE READING
Agoraphobia
General FictionA heroic eleven-year-old girl struggles to survive in a dying world plagued by a contagious form of agoraphobia (fear of being outside).
