Hegels Political Obligations

This week I was reading a article about Hegel and his political theory. Although I disagreed with a lot of what Hegel wrote, it amazes me how he sounds like a philosopher that would be alive today. His writing has ideas that I would consider modern and possibly timeless. I found his ideas of duty appealing and find myself agreeing with him. He gives the example of political obligations, such as: military, taxes, and state laws. He connects the following of political obligations with the need to live a ethical life and the way we are brought up, which makes following obligations second nature. Hegel warns when we do not understand why we are complying with political obligations, then compliance is merely based on authority. This is a problem that you see all to often today, I even do this myself. For example, why do we follow speed limit laws? Is it because we understand that speed limit laws were put in place to keep the community safe or because a police officer may write us a ticket? If these laws were not enforced who would follow them? Hegel makes a great point in that if you understand the laws you are more likely to follow them without enforcement. I agree and disagree with this statement, I think if the law is being enforced you may be more likely to break it. And if the law was not being enforced but there was a common understanding and thought of responsibility of why it was important to follow the law, you may feel this strong sense of obligation to lead by example and follow the law. I would rather have speed limit laws than have none at all. And this makes me reflect on why I break speed limit laws if I agree they need to be in place. Because speed limit laws are being enforced, by breaking the law this does not mean that everyone will be allowed to break the law without a consequence. This consequence (a monetary fine) is enough for some drivers not to take the risk at all. By myself breaking the law this does not have the consequence of everyone being able to break the law. But if there was no enforcement of the laws, by myself breaking a speeding law what would stop others from doing the same? So if there was no enforcement I would have to follow the speed laws to make them relevant by example. I think that reason has been lost in the fast pace of life, excepting something because it is and not thinking about the reason behind why it is, has become very common.