Has there ever really been such a beast? A nation that was ruled by law and not men? I sit here, with many thoughts running through my head, but this one comes to the fore, so I'll write about it. It won't take long, which is good for me, since I don't have much time to write, today.
A law means nothing if it's not enforced. Pretty simple concept, really. Let's say we make a law that says, "shaking hands is punishable by 5 years in prison." Okay, so there's a law. Now a couple people shake hands. Do they automatically go to prison for 5 years?
Well, no. First, they have to be caught. And not caught by just anybody, but by authorities who have the power to punish them for breaking the law. If authorities watch someone break the law without punishing them, does that still make us a nation of laws? How many different laws need to be broken while the authorities do nothing? How many people need to break them? How many times do they need to be broken? At what point does a nation of laws become a nation of men?
The truth is, we've always been a nation of men, and we will always be a nation of men. Because it takes people to enforce the laws. If the people choose to enforce the laws against a certain group but not against another, then the laws may as well not exist. They are just a pretext for oppression.
The natural state of society is anarchy. No rules. Those with power make rules to keep in check those without power. The rules are enforced upon those without power. Those with power ignore the rules because they're the ones who enforce the rules.
When those without power band together and overthrow those with power, the powerless are no longer without power. They become the powerful. They make the rules. And so long as those without power stay together, they can maintain their status as the powerful. But when they fracture and split, as is inevitable with any group larger than one, the old powerful reassert themselves and make the rules once more.
Advocate for all the laws and rules and regulations you want. They don't mean a whit if the people in charge don't enforce them equally or at all.
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Updated by Gabriel D at Sun May 01, 2011 at 11:59 PM CDT
(Cross-posted to firefly-dreaming)