Very thoughtful and well thought out answers. I appreciate the fact that you take me so seriously. My own wife and kids don’t take me that seriously. Thank you.
I’m going to sleep. Just think about it for a while and get back to me tomorrow.
The ipod I was talking about didn’t make any noise that could be heard. It was me singing AC/DC off key while I couldn’t hear the sound of my own voice that pissed people off on the street. Should we ban that?
Yes! A thousand times yes!
But not in general...just your singing.
Sorry...couldn't resist. :-)
Thank YOU for participating in my navel-gazing. My friends and family learned long ago to just walk away when I start wringing my hands and muttering to myself... :)
As for your iPod question and the singing- again I think it depends on the volume. If you're squealing "Highway to Hell" enthusiastically but not at the top of your voice, I think you are within your rights. At that point it's only my sense of taste that's offended. My "right" not to be offended shouldn't trump your right to express your appreciation for the band, even if you do it poorly.
When you get loud enough to hurt people's eardrums or drown out conversations 20 feet away, then a citation may be appropriate. Now you're either physically harming me, or preventing me from reasonably expressing myself in a conversation taking place across the street. That changes the balance a bit, and would justify a restriction. This restriction is not against the content of your expression, merely the volume. So a law saying "No public singing" would be bad, but a law saying "No public rock and roll loud enough to cause bleeding ears" would be legitimate.
As you've probably noticed, I've used a lot of weasel-words ("may" and "might") in defending these restrictions. Part of me thinks that even if local governments should have these powers in theory, in practice they will always be abused and taken too far. A lot of what I've written hinges on the ability of the voters to limit themselves to what is "reasonable." This is probably expecting too much. I guess a good argument could be made that it is better to put up with the occasional boom-box, litterbug, or smoker rather than give an opening for the unreasonable Nanny-Statists.
I’m going to sleep. Just think about it for a while and get back to me tomorrow.
Since I'm starting to go in circles, I guess I should go to sleep too. But I probably won't. Good night to you, anyway. Hopefully by tomorrow I'll see the light. I already feel slightly dirty for having defended government power. Maybe a shower is in order, too.