Legislation Over Education

My wife recently brought this article to my attention. To summarize, it describes an initiative posed by a rather conservative citizen of the small town of Middleborough, Mass., who apparently has it out for the local potty mouths. If her proposal is adopted, it would basically grant the "police the power to issue $20 civil tickets to anyone who publicly 'accosts' another person verbally with profanity."

I don't care to comment on this politically, or polemically, for that matter. Rather, I wish to discuss something that humanity seems to trend toward in general. Let's call it "legislation over education." What I mean by this is that we as citizens have a tendency to observe things in society that we deem to be wrong, and maybe such things are wrong. However, rather than seeking to educate people in how and why something may be hazardous or morally wrong, it seems that our first impulse or response is to resort to some form of legislation. That is, we seek to pass laws--to ban things or force compliance.

But why is it that we as a society tend to resort first to legislation rather than education? Is it not better to explain why something is potential hazardous or morally wrong than it is to simply deem it illegal? Does forcing or coercing a person to comply with a moral standard make them a moral person? Why are we more apt to ban a person's behavior than we are to teach them how to behave? Are we really solving problems by merely passing laws? I do not mean to imply that legislation is unnecessary. It just seems to me that a great deal of that which we seek through legislation could be better accomplished with the right education.