Americans are amazingly law-abiding folk. We obey the rules. If you don't think so, travel to other countries. Watch people in countries we normally think of as civilized push in front of one another while waiting in line. Try driving in many of the great cities of the world. Those who travel greatly have horror stories to report. People drive through stop signs as if they were not there. And traffic lights receive not much more respect. Meanwhile, in the home of the free and the brave, we passively do what is expected of us.

The old television show Candid Camera had a classic episode in which two telephone booths were placed next to each other. One booth was labeled "Men" and the other "Women." As the camera recorded the scene, no one who used the booths violated the signs. Men used only…