tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096776708897685863.post606507519996178604..comments2024-02-23T04:39:49.329-05:00Comments on Conversations in Klal: It's The Law...Full StopProfKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17954446826821665314noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096776708897685863.post-1615872241890027582010-10-09T23:21:21.719-04:002010-10-09T23:21:21.719-04:00Years ago I used to work for a frum company and go...Years ago I used to work for a frum company and got a lift home with co-workers from time to time. However, I after noticing that most of the drivers were totally reckless, often going down small residential streets 10-30 miles above the speed limit. It sickened me and I immediately made the decision to shlep home on the subways instead.Joenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096776708897685863.post-1116933427216342322010-10-08T02:33:01.379-04:002010-10-08T02:33:01.379-04:00Look text while driving and driving without a lice...Look text while driving and driving without a licence driver in a car are two offenses far different than wearing a sit belt. The first two put other people's lives in jeopardy while the third one only your own. We live in the over regulated society where government makes all the decisions for us and treats us like children. We are adults and we should be allowed to drive without a seatbelt and swim without a lifeguard and ride a bicycle with a helmet and ..."mlevinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01831542484906424230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096776708897685863.post-37858285270684917562010-10-06T22:05:48.423-04:002010-10-06T22:05:48.423-04:00Unfortunately the problem of texting (and checking...Unfortunately the problem of texting (and checking email) while driving is not merely a "teen problem". <br />I've seen many adults do it - often with their children in the car.<br />I think the problem is that everyone thinks that they are "too good a driver" for this to ever happen to them.<br />It's a dangerous game.....G6https://www.blogger.com/profile/15932781801654313054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096776708897685863.post-10279050282158714022010-10-06T12:03:19.102-04:002010-10-06T12:03:19.102-04:00I'm not saying it's an excuse but I think ...I'm not saying it's an excuse but I think that frum kids are so over regulated that they maybe reduce the pressure by choosing the secular laws to fool around with. I don't know if they are openly rebelling against the secular laws but the affect is the same. Maybe if the frum community stopped making so many additional chumras and stopped putting them under a microscope for the tiniest things, like what color shirt to wear or what kippah is frummer then the others or what a girl's hair style should be they might be able to function better with the secular laws.Devorahnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096776708897685863.post-31983111253714774512010-10-06T10:04:02.731-04:002010-10-06T10:04:02.731-04:00I'll start off by repeating what Tuvi said tha...I'll start off by repeating what Tuvi said that problems of law-breaking exist throughout society. I think the specific problem you're addressing is the fact that in the frum community the law is often broken in a self-righteous fashion. Namely, that people go through mental contortions and gymnastics to PROVE that it is not only okay to break the law in this instance, but it's a mitzvah to do so (Sure it's against the law to traffic in organs, but I'm saving people's lives!).<br /><br />It's that attitude that is truly abhorrent. My frum coworker who refuses to wear a seat belt because "I'll decide issues of my own safety, not the government" or "I didn't grow up with seat belts and the government can't make me wear one" is simply an idiot. He's an idiot like all the other idiots who don't wear seat belts thereby breaking the law. But, those who break the law with righteous indignation that the secular authorities even have a right to govern their behavior are the real problem.<br /><br />I'd add that this same kind of picking and choosing what laws to follow is going full-steam in all of our frum communities. It's hard to say which came first - picking and choosing religious laws or picking and choosing secular laws; it's a real chicken and egg problem. But, it's well-known that if you show up to shul in a suit (checked for shatneiz) and a black hat, attend a shiur, and keep chalov yisroel, no one will care if you happen to speak lashon hara, cheat on your taxes, lie to the yeshiva's scholarship committee, and judge others unfavorably. The guy who pays extra for a "mehadrin" lulav and etrog set is somehow more frum than the person who is nice to everyone he encounters. There are too many examples of this type to even count.<br /><br />It's all part of the same problem.JSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096776708897685863.post-22666682936755490502010-10-06T09:45:18.602-04:002010-10-06T09:45:18.602-04:00But you would think that frum people, who are gove...<i>But you would think that frum people, who are governed by strict Jewish law from when they get up in the morning until they go to sleep at night in every area of their lives would be more aware of obeying laws instead of less aware.</i><br /><br />Most Orthodox Jews obey Jewish law because they believe it's commanded by God, not because the laws are sensible or helpful. So they have no special reasons to obey traffic laws.tesyaanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096776708897685863.post-76345739611437782352010-10-06T09:43:21.618-04:002010-10-06T09:43:21.618-04:00I'd like to believe that these two accidents w...I'd like to believe that these two accidents will serve as a wakeup call to other teen drivers that driving a car is a serious business. I'd also like to believe that the accidents will serve as examples as to why the law is what it is. And maybe they will, and maybe they won't. And maybe short term some drivers will watch what they are doing while driving. And maybe short term some parents will take the extra time to make sure their teen drivers know what the law is and know that they can't break it. But long term? I'm not that optimistic. We humans have a habit of thinking that accidents are what happen to the other guy, and the law applies to them, not to us.Allannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096776708897685863.post-27632172236970224672010-10-06T08:31:17.707-04:002010-10-06T08:31:17.707-04:00This is a problem across society, not just in the ...This is a problem across society, not just in the frum world. But you would think that frum people, who are governed by strict Jewish law from when they get up in the morning until they go to sleep at night in every area of their lives would be more aware of obeying laws instead of less aware.<br /><br />A real tragedy for those who died and for the teens who broke the law and caused the accidents. These kids lives are now changed forever. And the whole thing could have been avoided if they had just followed the law.Tuvinoreply@blogger.com