“Silly Blue Laws” and Unexamined Privilege

I try to avoid criticizing my commenters, but this anonymous comment so perfectly crystalizes the attitude I was criticizing in my last point that I can’t resist quoting it:

For all the gassing on conservatives do about ‘family values’ and social issues and the like, the truth is as long as the state is leaving us alone and letting us keep the fruits of our labor, so to speak, people will always have the ability to buy our way past the silly blue laws that they pass.

The thing to ask about this is what does this commenter mean by “us?”

When I got married, my wife’s home state of Ohio recognized our marriage, as does every other state in the union. Every state in the union will allow us to adopt children. If I had decided to join the military at age 18, I wouldn’t have had to worry about my superiors learning I was attracted to women.

I live in a nice enough neighborhood that I’m not likely to be the victim of a wrong-door drug raid. The police are unlikely to seize my car because a drug dog detects trace amounts of illicit drugs.

I’m not likely to be wrongly accused of a crime, and if I were, I could probably afford an experienced attorney who would focus on my case and dramatically improve my chances of exoneration. Because I’m unlikely to wind up in jail, I don’t need to worry about prison rape.

I don’t do illegal drugs or hire prostitutes, but I’m smart and wealthy enough that I could probably do so without getting caught if I wanted to. I’m never going to need an abortion, but if my wife wanted one, she’d have the resources to travel to a jurisdiction where abortions are legal. I’m unlikely to be the victim of rape or domestic violence, which means I don’t have to worry about whether the police in my jurisdiction take such charges seriously.

I’m not on a TSA watchlist. There’s no risk of another country launching a preemptive war on my country, nor are foreign governments likely to secretly plot and finance a coup against my government any time soon. Other countries don’t dump poison on crops in my country. I don’t have to worry about being shot by a predator drone. I’ll never be mistaken for an “unlawful combatant” or subjected to torture.

I’m free to travel and work almost anywhere in the world. My community isn’t being impoverished by trade restrictions. I don’t have to worry about being deported to a country I barely remember because my parents brought me here when I was 2 years old. If I happen to be traveling abroad during a natural disaster or civil unrest, the most powerful nation on Earth will move heaven and Earth to get me home safely.

So it’s absolutely true that for me personally, a tax cut will make a bigger difference to my life than most “social issues.” And if what you mean by “us” is white, straight, male, American citizens with above-average education and incomes, then yeah, for “us,” the most important “social issue” may be “silly blue laws.” But personally, I’m a libertarian because I believe in freedom for everyone. And lots of people are facing government-created “social issues” much more serious than an inability to purchase alcohol on Sundays.