Imagine a Life Without Laws 564.5
Fifty years ago, President Dwight Eisenhower declared May 1st Law Day to honor the critical role of law in our unique Constitutional democracy.
Try to imagine what our lives would be like without laws. There would be no way to enforce our contracts, regulate the way people drive, trust the safety of our foods and drugs, or protect us from our neighbor's dog. Without laws to create and protect our right to free speech, religion, privacy, and fair trials, the liberties we hold so dear would be nonexistent.
Laws establish standards of behavior that are necessary if we are to have an orderly, peaceful, just, humane, and respectful society.
Yet today, it's popular to express disdain for the law, especially those that regulate controversial conduct such as using stem-cell research; allowing same-sex marriages; buying automatic weapons; and dealing with criminals, suspected terrorists, and prisoners of war. This is understandable. Such topics generate passionate convictions worth fighting for.
Still, these areas of intense disagreement are precisely the ones where we most need democratically enacted ordinances. Without respect for the law, our society could devolve into constantly warring factions where physical power rather than popular vote would win the day.
Rules define our expectations as well as our standards of right and wrong. Whether we're playing a game or running a family, school, company, or community, clear and specific rules backed up by consistent and just enforcement make our lives more fair, efficient, and safe. And I'm all for them.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
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Comments
Certainly the best way to facilitate interaction and responsibilities between humans is common sense and common decency. Often that is exactly what happens --common sense and decency, that is. Other times, even if a minority, it has shown to be necessary to have laws. This means even the best law is "second best". The only other justification for laws is the regulation of complicated or widely used systems such as traffic control and money.
Posted by: Bill Wittmeyer | May 1, 2008 5:01 PM
It seems ironic, in light of tonight's news on TV about the "May Day" marches in LA, that this date in history should have been declared "Law Day". Michael, you wrote: "Without respect for the law, our society could devolve into constantly warring factions where physical power rather than popular vote would win the day".
Without commenting on the divisive issue of illegal immigration itself, I find it quite incongruous that on this, of all days, people should demand that we disrespect the law with respect to that issue.
Posted by: Eric | May 1, 2008 8:43 PM
"...constantly warring factions where physical power rather than popular vote would win the day..." and popular vote does not mean make right, it just means that there is enough physical power to overcome any dissension.
Posted by: bob wilson | May 2, 2008 6:27 AM
Certainly laws are necessary, but sometimes serious, critical, moral thinking is better than laws and rules. Where would we be today if people like Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, and Martin Luther King chose to obey the "laws"?
Posted by: Mike Cortrite | May 2, 2008 10:31 AM
NO ONE CAN DISAGREE WITH THE VALUE OF LAWS IN A JUST AND CIVIL SOCIETY. BUT EVEN MORE IMPORTANT IS OUR RIGHT TO PROTEST AGAINST UNJUST AND DANGEROUS LAWS THAT TEAR AGAINST THE FIBER OF DEMOCRACY.
IF OTHER COUNTRIES HAD THAT RIGHT, THEN THE HOLOCAUST MIGHT NEVER HAVE HAPPENED AND THE SLAUGHTERS IN DARFUR, THE MIDDLE EAST, AND ALL THROUGH AFRICA MIGHT NOT HAVE HAPPENED.
Posted by: RABBI CRAIG WYCKOFF | May 2, 2008 10:34 AM
Great article, but what about lawmakers who make laws seem useless; so many from local leaders to presidents who break the laws and get away with it? This situation leaves us common people disenchanted and wondering if laws are worth the paper they are written on. Respect for the laws? Let's start in Washington!
Posted by: Paula Lewis | May 2, 2008 12:21 PM
Great article. I think it's important to have laws. I wouldn't like to imagine how our lives would be without laws. That sounds horrible. There would be no respect for one another. There would be criminals all around us. I also believe it can increase poverty and the whole world would go corrupted.
Posted by: Estela | May 7, 2008 10:45 AM
It is crucially important to not confuse law with democracy and majority vote. In the United States we are fortunate to live in a democratic republic - thus the core law is the constitution, and the majority "mob" cannot overrule its key principles. Majority of Americans used to be racists, and today, regrettably, a majority is still homophobic, which too shall pass. Because the US constitution guarantees equal protection under the law, the majority cannot democratically pass a law that, for example, bans gay marriage. It is a relief that the conservative-dominated California Supreme Court indeed had respect for the supreme law of the land and threw out the "democratically" created law that attempted to discriminate against a small minority by an ignorant majority. I hope Michael Josephson will clarify in his future comments that the rule of law and the "popular vote winning the day" are not the same thing.
Otherwise, love many of the commentaries - keep up the good work.
Posted by: Michael Vlastone | May 22, 2008 6:01 PM