So What Comes Next After The Pants?

21 Jul, 2008 by John Hawkins

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One of the biggest problems we have in this country is that people think the government needs to be involved in every little thing. For example,

Be careful if you have saggy pants in the south Chicago suburb of Lynwood. Village leaders have passed an ordinance that would levy $25 fines against anyone showing three inches or more of their underwear in public.

Eugene Williams is the mayor of Lynwood. He says young men walk around town half-dressed, keeping major retailers and economic development away. He calls the new law a hot topic.

The American Civil Liberties Union says the ordinance targets young men of color.

The problem with this law is not that it targets “young men of color” because that clothing style is hardly exclusive to one particular race. Moreover, I think most people would agree that kids with their underwear hanging out look like complete jackasses.

So what is the problem?

Here’s the problem: what business does the government have telling kids to pull their pants up in the first place? What are they going to regulate next? High heel height? Hairstyles? Whether you can wear white after Labor Day?

Just because some people don’t like something or a situation is less than ideal doesn’t mean that the government needs to get involved. Following that one principle in government would probably do more to improve the quality of life in this country over the long haul than anything else…