Through our regulatory reforms, the Trump administration is

In the words of Andrew R. Wheeler: “Through our regulatory reforms, the Trump administration is proving that burdensome federal regulations are not necessary to drive environmental progress. What makes our actions effective and durable is our commitment to vigorously enforce them.” These words shine with both confidence and defiance, for they challenge the long-held belief that only layers of heavy rule-making can guard the earth. Wheeler suggests a different path: that true protection lies not in the weight of countless rules, but in the strength and certainty of their enforcement.

The ancients, too, understood this tension between law and practice. Plato wrote of the uselessness of statutes if no one upheld them, likening unenforced laws to cobwebs—strong enough to catch the weak, but easily torn apart by the powerful. Wheeler echoes this old wisdom: what sustains environmental progress is not the sheer volume of rules, but the vigor with which they are carried out. For the mightiest code is an empty scroll if it does not shape conduct, and even a small number of laws can change nations if they are enforced with justice and resolve.

Consider the history of the Clean Water Act in the United States. It was not the act’s existence alone that transformed the nation’s rivers, but the commitment of leaders and communities to enforce it. The Cuyahoga River, once aflame with pollution, was restored not because of countless new mandates piled endlessly upon one another, but because the laws already written were applied with courage and strength. Enforcement turned a dream into reality. Wheeler’s words remind us that writing law is but the first step; carrying it out with discipline is the true heart of reform.

At the same time, his reference to regulatory reforms points to another truth: that laws which are too burdensome may stifle rather than protect. History provides cautionary tales. In ancient Rome, emperors sometimes enacted sprawling edicts that were so complex they became impossible to obey or enforce, breeding contempt for the very idea of law. The result was not order but chaos, not compliance but corruption. Wheeler’s claim is that by refining and simplifying regulations, governments can create clearer paths to compliance, while still safeguarding what matters most.

Yet this vision is not without peril. If the reduction of federal regulations becomes mere abandonment of responsibility, then enforcement, no matter how vigorous, will lack the tools to preserve the land and water. The balance is delicate: reform must not become neglect, nor should enforcement be so weak as to make rules meaningless. The ancients taught the virtue of moderation, the golden mean between excess and deficiency. So it is here: between the extremes of endless rules and reckless deregulation lies a path of careful, enforceable balance.

The deeper meaning of Wheeler’s words is a call to strength of will. For it is easy to draft laws, easier still to celebrate their passing, but harder by far to enforce them day after day, against resistance, corruption, and indifference. Endurance and discipline are what make rules “durable.” Just as a city is guarded not by the height of its walls, but by the vigilance of its watchmen, so the environment is guarded not by volumes of regulations, but by the constancy of those who enforce them.

So let this teaching endure: write fewer laws, but better ones. Reform them so that they are clear, just, and enforceable. And once written, guard them as a shepherd guards his flock, with tireless vigilance and unwavering resolve. In your own life, practice the same discipline: let your promises be few, but keep them all. Let your rules for yourself be simple, but enforce them with strength. For as Wheeler’s words remind us, progress does not come from the endless making of rules, but from the living of them with courage and constancy.