--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Trying to enforce our out-of-touch laws…" description: "\"Trying to enforce our out-of-touch laws is as foolish and impossible as trying to enforce a law requiring that water flow uphill.\" — Jared Polis" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cf/jared-polis-4096_flow_trying-to-enforce-our-out-of-touch-laws_336235.jpg" --- # Trying to enforce our out-of-touch laws is as foolish and… ![“Trying to enforce our out-of-touch laws is as foolish and impossible as trying to enforce a law requiring that water flow uphill.” quote by Jared Polis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cf/jared-polis-4096_flow_trying-to-enforce-our-out-of-touch-laws_336235.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cf/jared-polis-4096_flow_trying-to-enforce-our-out-of-touch-laws_336235.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cf/jared-polis-4096_flow_trying-to-enforce-our-out-of-touch-laws_336235.jpg) > “Trying to enforce our out-of-touch laws is as foolish and impossible as trying to enforce a law requiring that water flow uphill.” [Jared Polis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-polis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Attempting to enforce outdated or impossible laws is as absurd as demanding water flow uphill. **In simple terms:** Old laws can be unrealistic and futile. Key Takeaway Update or discard obsolete rules. Themes law policy change Mood critical analytical Type political social commentary When to use this quote - government regulation - environmental policy - technology law Key Concepts legal reform social progress Questions to Reflect On - What laws are clearly outdated today? - How can societies adapt laws to modern realities? A Different Perspective Changing laws can be politically difficult. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Flow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flow/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Laws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laws/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) ## Related quotes > [“When you were trying to enforce law and order, it was difficult to explain that the rules did not actually apply to you personally.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-follett/when-you-were-trying-to-enforce-law-and-order-it-was-difficult-to/) [Ken Follett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-follett/) > [It's impossible to always get across what I'm trying to say, but, if I just stay honest, then I'm not going to look back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-stewart/it-s-impossible-to-always-get-across-what-i-m-trying-to-say-but-if-i/) [Kristen Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-stewart/) > [“it was impossible; trying to find a meaning in everything meant he had to remain alert and tense”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/it-was-impossible-trying-to-find-a-meaning-in-everything-meant-he-had/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [There’s no better guarantee of failure than convincing yourself that success is impossible, and therefore never even trying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-tegmark/there-s-no-better-guarantee-of-failure-than-convincing-yourself-that/) [Max Tegmark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-tegmark/) > [Never give up it may seem impossible now, but keep trying don't loose hope in the end you'll achieve what you desire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/never-give-up-it-may-seem-impossible-now-but-keep-trying-don-t-loose/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [You cannot score 10 goals from 10 shots - that's impossible - but I am trying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohamed-salah/you-cannot-score-10-goals-from-10-shots-that-s-impossible-but-i-am/) [Mohamed Salah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohamed-salah/) > [Never give up when something seems impossible because if you keep trying you'll find a way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-give-up-when-something-seems-impossible-because-if-you-keep/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I realised it is impossible to live with the rules they give Saudi women. 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It is to establish legitimacy with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/so-the-first-task-of-a-police-force-is-not-to-fight-crime-and-enforce/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) ## More by Jared Polis > [I have a horrible sense of direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-polis/i-have-a-horrible-sense-of-direction/) [Jared Polis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-polis/) > [I'm too busy thinking what I'm going to say next to remember what I've said, but my staff tells me I'm sometimes funny. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-polis/i-m-too-busy-thinking-what-i-m-going-to-say-next-to-remember-what-i/) [Jared Polis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-polis/) > [We are a diverse country, but we are one country. And we are at our best when we come together as Americans, not despite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-polis/we-are-a-diverse-country-but-we-are-one-country-and-we-are-at-our/) [Jared Polis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-polis/) > [The federal government has an exceptionally poor record of behaving responsibly with Americans' personal information when entrusted with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-polis/the-federal-government-has-an-exceptionally-poor-record-of-behaving/) [Jared Polis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-polis/) > [My parents were active in the anti-war movement in the 1960s, so I grew up with a tradition of civic activism around our dinner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-polis/my-parents-were-active-in-the-anti-war-movement-in-the-1960s-so-i/) [Jared Polis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-polis/) > [I derive a lot of the values that I try to bring into the public sphere from my private faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-polis/i-derive-a-lot-of-the-values-that-i-try-to-bring-into-the-public/) [Jared Polis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-polis/) > [Big food companies have their priorities, which include selling cheap, unhealthy foods at high profits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-polis/big-food-companies-have-their-priorities-which-include-selling-cheap/) [Jared Polis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-polis/) > [Negotiating deals among members of Congress is an exercise in wearing masks, scaring up votes, and, oftentimes, bluffing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-polis/negotiating-deals-among-members-of-congress-is-an-exercise-in-wearing/) [Jared Polis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-polis/) > [We need to prove to American voters, particularly independent voters who gave us this opportunity to lead, that this is not your grandfather's tax-and-spend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-polis/we-need-to-prove-to-american-voters-particularly-independent-voters/) [Jared Polis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-polis/) > [Many rogue sites exist to make a profit and others are enormously expensive to maintain. 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Though we drink till we burst, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/like-the-water-of-a-deep-stream-love-is-always-too-much-we-did-not/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Forgetting your Self is the greatest injury; all the calamities flow from it. Take care of the most important, the lesser will take care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/forgetting-your-self-is-the-greatest-injury-all-the-calamities-flow/) [Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/) > [“When we strike a balance between the challenge of an activity and our skill at performing it, when the rhythm of the work itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-gore/when-we-strike-a-balance-between-the-challenge-of-an-activity-and-our/) [Ariel Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-gore/) > [When we fall utterly, something gathers us up. But our falling must be without reservation, without expectation, without hope, though not hopeless. You cant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-housden/when-we-fall-utterly-something-gathers-us-up-but-our-falling-must-be/) [Roger Housden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-housden/) > [I have this belief about things happening organically. I believe life has this organic flow in a way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naoko-mori/i-have-this-belief-about-things-happening-organically-i-believe-life/) Naoko Mori > [Sometimes by a woodland stream he watched the water rush over the pebbled bed, its tiny modulations of bounce and flow. A woman's body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/sometimes-by-a-woodland-stream-he-watched-the-water-rush-over-the/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [David Rockefeller is the most conspicuous representative today of the ruling class, a multinational fraternity of men who shape the global economy and manage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-moyers/david-rockefeller-is-the-most-conspicuous-representative-today-of-the/) [Bill Moyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-moyers/) > [The tides which flow and lapse in the Bristol Channel are often distained by the freshets of many streams falling through wooded coombes below…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-williamson/the-tides-which-flow-and-lapse-in-the-bristol-channel-are-often/) [Henry Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-williamson/) > [“Life is a flow which we can either resist or go with it gracefully.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tonmoy-acharjee/life-is-a-flow-which-we-can-either-resist-or-go-with-it-gracefully/) Tonmoy Acharjee > [What a strange power the perception of beauty is! 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Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-c-benson/) [Browse all 3,282 Flow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flow/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Trying to enforce our out-of-touch laws is as foolish and impossible as trying to enforce a law requiring that water flow uphill.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jared Polis" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-polis/trying-to-enforce-our-out-of-touch-laws-is-as-foolish-and-impossible/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Flow" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-polis/trying-to-enforce-our-out-of-touch-laws-is-as-foolish-and-impossible/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cf/jared-polis-4096_flow_trying-to-enforce-our-out-of-touch-laws_336235.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cf/jared-polis-4096_flow_trying-to-enforce-our-out-of-touch-laws_336235.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cf/jared-polis-4096_flow_trying-to-enforce-our-out-of-touch-laws_336235.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Trying to enforce our out-of-touch laws is as foolish and impossible as trying to enforce a law requiring…” — Jared Polis", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Jared Polis", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-polis/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Trying to enforce our out-of-touch laws...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-polis/trying-to-enforce-our-out-of-touch-laws-is-as-foolish-and-impossible/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-polis/trying-to-enforce-our-out-of-touch-laws-is-as-foolish-and-impossible/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```