2 Paragraphs 4 Liberty: #162 “The Rule of Law as the Protector of Liberty”

             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:
“Don’t cling to a mistake just because you spent a lot of time making it.” -Aubrey de Grey

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