Litigation Nation

I’m no attorney, so don’t know the ins and outs of liability and legal culpability, but the issue of litigation has been on my mind.  When people forget how to communicate with one another and how to educate themselves away from mistakes before they happen, they are left being part of a reactionary, near-sighted culture.  That culture has nothing to keep people in line, no rites or accepted ways of avoiding dispute, other than, of course, the threat of legal proceedings.  Our nation is so enamored with the threat, or fear of litigation that we go to extreme measures to avoid disputes, write books of fine print for everything from rubber duckys to coffee makers.  Regulations written in the government are dissertations, including repetitious terms and conditions, every term defined ad nausea not because the common person cannot understand it, but because the fear of misinterpretation is such that millions of dollars are wasted on words and appendices and subparts to rules, rather than the fundamental implementation of good laws meant to improve the lives of people.  Don’t get me wrong, I see the need for warnings of choke hazards on toys, and defining the word ‘substantial’ or ‘large’ to avoid misuse of tax dollars, but I fear that law and fear of legal recourse drives many of the things people do, rather than reason and fundamental necessity. 

Just a few weeks ago, an 8-year-old was suspended from school for playing cops and robbers, depicting a gun with his finger and thumb like many of us did hundreds of times when we were younger.  I understand the underlying implications of guns in school, and recent violence, but the actions of school officials were rash and illogical, traumatizing a young child for actions all too normal.  In other places, students can’t run at recess for fear of getting hurt, and some parties are afraid of litigation just by association, because, unless it is expressly spelled out, a third party can be held liable if they are affiliated with the offender.  This epidemic stifles growth, slows economic reform that is sorely needed, and basically creates a distraction from all of the things that we could be spending our time on.  I know plenty of good, hard-working lawyers, some of whom are courtroom lawyers, so I’m not accusing them of creating this disease, but I wonder what people would do if litigation were not an option.  What would create the perfect storm of pressure so that people started talking again, face-to-face, working through issues, instead of just paying others to.  Call me a Polyanna, but I’m going to keep hoping that we can get back to that place somehow, someday.