Henry David Thoreau in his book Civil Disobedience wrote the government is best is that which governs least. Part of the mythos of the United States is that rules and laws are a burden, that human beings should be left to act as they see fit. This basically optimistic assessment of humanity is not the biblical one. The Bible is aware of the tendency toward sin. That helps to explain the reaction of the people at the Watergate when Nehemiah and Ezra re-introduce the law to the exiles returning from Babylon. They are distressed when the realize how they have failed to live up to the law, but there is cause for rejoicing because the law provides direction that leads to a happy life.
