Forcing Ideas Onto Other People

No, this post isn't about gay marriage -- that horse is already dead and beaten, and let me tell you, he's not terribly happy about that at all. However, the gay marriage issue is as good an example as any, especially considering that it's the most recent example.

Take away inertia, historical precedent, etc. Why is it that some people stay awake nights worried that two gay strangers a thousand miles away might get married? Or, with other examples, why is it that someone in Illinois can worry that someone in California may see a breast? Or have oral sex? Or (from the opposite end of the spectrum) that someone may have a bad day, week, or year? Why is it that someone in Vermont thinks that someone in Florida should pay for the health care of someone in California?

In other words, why do people worry about everyone else and not themselves? If we all minded our own business, half of the problems we have in this country would simply go away. Gay marriage wouldn't be an issue if people minded their own business -- there is no argument on earth that could convince me that two gay men getting married somehow undermines my parents' marriage. Welfare wouldn't be an issue if people respected the fact that, ultimately, we are all responsible for our own destiny -- if that includes charity, so be it, but if not, that's life. Censorship -- from both directions, language/sex/etc. and PC-ism -- wouldn't be an issue if parents actually acted as parents instead of glorified nannies.

None of these would be a problem if we just left well enough alone. So why don't we?