EDITORS NOTE: The following is an opinion piece written by Joseph Hardee of Clarkton, NC
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Alright, I’m bored, the weather sucks, and I feel like poking the bear—so here we go.
Some towns have put curfews in place because of the weather. You know the drill: be home by X time or else. And I’ve been rolling this around in my head because both sides of this argument deserve to get absolutely roasted.
Let’s start with the “CURFEWS ARE NECESSARY” crowd.
Yes, the roads are dangerous. Ice doesn’t care that you’ve “been driving for 30 years.” It doesn’t care about your four-wheel drive, your confidence, or your Facebook degree in meteorology. When you slide into a ditch, you don’t just inconvenience yourself—you call in firefighters, EMTs, deputies, tow truck drivers, and anyone else who now has to risk their neck because you thought your midnight snack was mission-critical.
And let’s be honest: a solid chunk of the population cannot be trusted to make good decisions. If left unchecked, they’ll go out “just for a minute,” end up sideways in a road, and then complain about response time while someone else is risking frostbite to rescue them. So from a public safety standpoint? Curfews make sense. They reduce dumb calls. They protect first responders. They limit chaos. That argument isn’t wrong.
But now let’s beat the brakes off that logic too.
Because at the same time… don’t talk to me like I’m a child.
I’m a grown man. I understand risk. I understand consequences. And being told “you are not allowed to leave your house” rubs me the wrong way in a way I can’t just hand-wave away. At what point does “for your safety” turn into “because we said so”? Because that line gets real blurry real fast.
If the logic is “you might get hurt, so you’re not allowed,” then where does it stop? Roads are dangerous every day. Driving is dangerous every day. Life is dangerous. Freedom comes with risk, and I don’t love the idea that the solution to risk is just locking everyone inside like we’re all one bad decision away from needing a time-out.
And let’s be real—not everyone out is being reckless. Some people work nights. Some people are checking on family. Some people don’t have the luxury of sitting home drinking coffee and watching the weather channel. Blanket rules don’t care about nuance, context, or common sense. They just swing the hammer and call it leadership.
So here I am, standing right in the middle, annoyed at both sides.
Annoyed at people who can’t stay home when they should.
Annoyed at the idea of being told I’m grounded “for my own good.”
Annoyed that common sense has become rare enough that we need curfews in the first place.
And before anyone starts clutching pearls—Joe is not going anywhere. I’m home, I’m warm, and I’m not testing fate or ice. This isn’t about what I’m doing. It’s about the argument itself.
So have at it.
Are curfews a necessary evil because too many people are idiots?
Or are they a lazy solution that treats responsible adults like toddlers?
No wrong answers.
Plenty of strong opinions.
Joe Hardee
Clarkton, NC
