Clothing Optional

What?  I can go bare and not be arrested?  Who says I must cover up?  Isn’t that a violation of my rights?  Well, I’d like to know who has the extra-rights and privileges to tell me what fashions I must adhere to and how much of me must be covered.  I’m just wondering if I must always wear a hat, and if it has a bill, must I wear it to the front or the rear?  What about trousers, even shorts?  If I run down the street wearing neither, would I be arrested, and if so, what law would I have violated? 

I do not believe there are any federal statutes that define the kinds of clothing, or what part of the anatomy must be covered, that should be enforced.  I know of no states that have laws defining the kinds and extent of clothing worn by citizens, and if not worn, the extent of penalties.  So, where does all this come from?

It would appear the original governments from the earliest American frontier settlements, the towns and counties, decided the moral issues and wrote laws to cover them, such as the blue laws, prohibition, vagrancy, public intoxication, each of which implies grades of behavior are punishable even if no harm comes to others.  In short, these local governments decided, by majority votes of citizens obviously lacking compassion, that violating moral insensitiveness should be limited and punished.  If running down the street without clothing harms no one, why should there be laws prohibiting it?  If we have nude beaches now, why not allow them to encompass the entire community?

The only way these things could be justified, is by accepting the original concepts of local government, something once prized by all Americans.  Those were governments established no further from the people than a days ride on horse.  Local government made America what it is, even with clothing requirements. All the laws impacting individuals existed on the local level and expressed the majority views of good behavior.

The States handled more commercial laws while the federal laws dealt with international conflicts, foreign and interstate commerce matters, and not the day to day behavior of ordinary citizens.  Local government, however, is no longer seen as progressive. The founders of the Democratic Party once believed local government was the core of America.  The modern Democrat believes that the local governments should be nothing more than lower departments of the federal government.

The more distant, progressive governing bodies have no desire to get into whether wearing clothing or not should be a matter for legislative or enforcement concern, as no one is physically harmed.  Emotional harm is not something a lawyer or judge can touch, and one man’s emotional upset is another man’s enjoyment, making it beyond judgment.  This should clear the legal net from imposing any limits to clothing requirements, pornography, use of drugs, alcohol or food addictions, at least not until it becomes a political need for a prominent special interest.