Without the rights of everyone being enforced, no one’s rights can really exist. In that regard, it is important to understand that our country is not a Democracy, which was defined by Benjamin Franklin as two wolves and a lamb voting upon what to have for dinner. No, we are a Republic, where the rights of lambs can be protected. And how can our rights best be protected? We must have institutions which are based upon the Rule of Law and which enshrine our Liberty.Socrates and Plato understood this, and based their philosophy upon the argument that relying upon good rulers and citizens to possess the cardinal virtues of wisdom, justice, courage and moderation was a mistake because it could not be assured. A stark example is seen with President Franklin Roosevelt. Remember, he once so prominently said “We are a nation of many nationalities, many races, many religions-bound together by a single unity, the unity of freedom and equality. Whoever seeks to set one nationality against another, seeks to degrade all nationalities.” that it is engraved in stone at his Memorial in Washington DC. However, he is also the person who caused thousands of Japanese-Americans to be interned during World War II.* No, we cannot rely upon individuals, we must instead put our faith in the Rule of Law. Our great country’s Founders followed that approach in creating our Constitution and its Bill of Rights, which ensure the rights of all. And this is the reason that the United States of America has traditionally had more freedom than any other country in the world.
** I do, however, acknowledge that one of the times our institutions failed us was in the US Supreme Court’s decision in Korematsu v. United States, 323 U.S. 214 (1944), which was a landmark case upholding the constitutionality of FDR’s Executive Order 9066, which ordered Japanese Americans into internment camps during World War II regardless of their citizenship.
Judge Jim Gray (Ret.)
2012 Libertarian candidate for Vice President,
along with Governor Gary Johnson as the candidate for President
** Quote of the week:2012 Libertarian candidate for Vice President,
along with Governor Gary Johnson as the candidate for President
“Don’t cling to a mistake just because you spent a lot of time making it.” -Aubrey de Grey
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I am proud to say that my Father remains one of my biggest heroes. As an example, a long time ago when I was a prosecutor and he was a judge in the Los Angeles Federal Courthouse, I would continually see him not only greeting the custodians in the hallways, but even asking about their children – all by name! And they would literally glow in response. It was not his way to speak to me about things like this, instead he led by example. So I started doing the same thing. Amazingly enough, the first time I did this was to the custodian who was cleaning my office. When I greeted him by name, which I knew from the label on his shirt, he literally stopped in his tracks. Then told me that he had been working here for ten years, and I was the first attorney ever to address him by name. The irony of this was that I eventually learned that he was the father of one of the stars on the UCLA Basketball team. So that was my unneeded tangible reward for treating people as people.
One of the most flaming breaches of contract I know about is still being perpetrated by our own federal government (namely, by us all) upon some of our military Veterans. For example, it is estimated that about 30 percent the homeless population both in Los Angeles and Orange Counties are Vets. And the statistics for Veterans committing suicide are similarly disturbing. There must be a connection! But the problem is that today that, although Veterans are formally entitled to receive healthcare services, a myriad of obstacles are put in their way before that is realized. That simply must be changed! Being in war creates many scars, many not visible, and those conditions can result in almost permanent disabilities.
Where Liberty is not connected with accountability, the results can turn ugly. For example, in a study about how people act first when they can be identified as opposed to anonymously, some observations were made on the same people first when they were on an elevator and then later when they were driving their cars. While on the elevator, most would say “After you,” and the responses would be “No, after you.” But when the same people were driving their cars, and thus anonymous, they would normally try to cut off the other drivers. That’s what anonymity can do. To sum up this thought, the great UCLA Basketball Coach Johnny Wooden put it best by saying that “Your reputation is the way others perceive you, but your character is how you act when no one else is looking.” Under this definition, we all know that some people’s character when they have the Liberty to act anonymously can be ugly.
As has been affirmed numbers of times during this series, a Free Society must not count upon “good people” to ensure Liberty and good results for its members. Why? Because we can neither count upon those good people always to do the right thing or, even if we could, we cannot count upon having a continuing succession of good people to replace them. So a free society instead must rely upon the “Rule of Law.” But what does that mean? It means that, although they don’t have to be perfect, the same rules must apply to everyone. But where there are exceptions, whether based upon wealth, power, “holiness” or fame, the Rule of Law collapses.
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