What is, what was, and what might be

If you found yourself driving down the road this past 4^th of July while holding a cell phone to your ear, you were on solid legal ground in Connecticut. Talking on cell phones while driving was officially discouraged, but it wasn't going to result in a ticket. By Halloween the circumstances had changed, however. You would have been risking a ticket with a price tag of between $100 and $200, depending on whether it was your first offense, your second offense, or you deemed to be a habitually conversational driver. The same goes for texting on that phone while driving. What was perfectly okay during the summer months, was illegal and expensive by fall.

Change is constant, even for the law.

I mention this for the simple reason that we all make decisions based on what we know to be true. The problem for many of us is that what we know to be true, just isn't. It might have been true at one time, but times change, and the law changes with it. So while we may have complete confidence in our judgement based on years of experience and careful consideration, it is worth at least taking a moment to consider the possibility that the rules of the game may have changed since we last played.

As I write this, there is great consternation and concern across the country about what the tax code will be for 2011. Right now nobody knows for sure what that tax code might say, or what our tax rates might be. It is a fair bet that changes will be coming our way no matter which tax bracket we find ourselves in; and there is a lesson in that for all of us.

The law changes. State legislatures and governors spend a great deal of time debating issues, putting forward initiatives, and pressing for legal remedies for the challenges that confront their constituents. The result of all that work is law. New laws, specifically. And many of those new laws kick in with little fanfare or press coverage. In truth, the law often changes in ways that the average person never suspects, until they get caught in a jam. Because ignorance can be expensive. Which is a lesson that many Connecticut residents learned quickly and painfully when they found out that talking on a cell phone while you're at the wheel was no longer discouraged – it had become illegal. It is almost certain that at least a few of those who were first ticketed after the law went into effect in October said in surprise, “But I've been doing this for years – it's not illegal!”

That's a tough way to get an update on what the legislature has been up to.

When we act we have to make sure our actions are based on what is, not what was. And if we're really sharp we'll take into account what might be, too. Because the future matters, and while we can't predict the future with perfect clarity, we can certainly make educated decisions based on what we know to be true, currently. That's true of every facet of our lives, for as long as the law is in a state of constant change, which it always will be, I'm sure.

If nothing else, knowing this is incentive to read the paper more carefully, watch the news with greater interest, and perhaps do a little extra homework every now and then. That may require some extra effort on a continuing basis, but that time is well spent if you can save yourself the trouble of being out of step with the law. Nobody needs that kind of stress. Especially during the holidays.