Saturday, April 18, 2009

Jurisprudence!!!

AAaaaannnnnD! the winner is!

Sure, I could use a laugh. 7 votes @ (58%)

NO, PLEASE NO! 5 votes @ (41%)

HENCE THE POST!
Well, if you didn't want it, it is too late now.





Laws are the threads that hold our great nation together. First and foremost, God’s laws: Thou shall not murder, Thou shall not steal, and so on. Next, we have the common law: don’t speed, don’t steal, and don’t invest in stock. The fact is that everyone subjects himself to the laws and government, or he pays the consequences. An interesting point is that we accept the laws that are mandated upon us because we are either enjoying the benefits of them, or we are not affected by them. Jurisprudence: keeps the strong from overpowering the weak, protects those that subject themselves to it, and benefits society as a whole. (generally speaking)





We as citizens make the laws that govern us, we should be happy with the law; the unfortunate fact is that far too many uneducated and ignorant people have the right to vote. We hear the call “GO VOTE” but if we aren’t educated enough to understand what we are voting on, then should we really vote? The obvious problem here is that the common masses are not capable to understand the consequences of their actions if they don’t understand their actions. For example, if a man votes at random because he doesn’t understand what he is voting on, he will probably never know the outcome of the law he voted on.




The problem is that too many laws are created just because they sound like a good idea. The main idea is that people may decide on what sounds good before they know the end result. The basic principle of the cell phone law is to get drivers off of their cell phones. I highly doubt this will actually solve much of the problem. I think more likely, more drivers will be fiddling with the wires on their “hands free” devices, trying to untangle a cord, or trying to figure out how to make the Bluetooth connection. This will be an undesired effect of a new law. It won’t solve the problem, nor will it keep people from dying.


I personally would love if laws worked the way they were supposed to. I would like a communistic government. It would be really nice to have everything equal, right? I mean, just think, how many times your sibling has got the iPod YOU deserve! This actually happening in reality is a joke. Power corrupts, and any governmental system is a good show of that. No, I’m not an anarchist, nor do I honestly want a communistic government. I believe that no government can exist without being ordained by God. I follow God, and I believe that he has put this government over me, so I can be subject to it. This doesn’t mean that I follow every law to the letter all the time. I mess up; I am a hypocrite.


A government that does so much to protect the innocent, yet allows abortion, is a government with conflicting interests. Our government is obviously messed up. This shows the duality of government; I.E. what government tries to accomplish with law VS. what they actually achieve.



All that to say… I believe that some laws are good because they protect me from others’ stupidity; however, what laws are going to protect me from the government’s stupidity? Laws are good, but laws that are implemented because of their wonderful “potential” are mostly worthless.

7 comments:

Farm Boy said...

Thanks for writing such a concise and excellent post on this topic.

In answer to the rhetorical question you raised at the end of your treatise, I doubt that any laws will protect you from the government, if the government is unwilling to abide by the boundaries instituted for it. The main issue is not that the laws with "potential" are bad, but that somewhere, all laws have a purpose or reason behind them. Looking for the "real motive" behind a law is key - and it's usually easier to find when one searches for the impact that such a law would have on the rights of the individual. Something that seems good (saving lives, etc.) may also have "unintended consequences" that seriously affect the future of a nation.

It is important to realize that in today's system, government MUST use laws to solve a problem. If there are no problems to solve, anyone with common sense would rightly assume that no new laws are required. However, some "problems" are created by the proponents of legislation solely to further the cause of an agenda or the passage of the law itself. As you said, because power corrupts, individuals in government often desire to acquire more power or at least fulfill a plan or agenda of their own choosing. Such agendas usually involve change, which can only happen if there is a problem that must be solved. Thus, most legislation is displayed to the public as a law with potential to fix a "problem", whether real or perceived, when in actuality, such a law is worthless.

Take, for example, the very real problem of the economy right now. Americans all over this land are screaming for the government to do something about it. Such a situation is, in fact, very dangerous because of the power invested in the government. In the name of "fixing the problem", the government is trampling the boundaries set for it by the Constitution, and in reality making the problem worse. Why is the problem getting worse? Because the individuals in government are stupid and don't know that they are doing? Absolutely not. The exacerbation of the problem through deliberate actions (i.e. Spending trillions of dollars and going deeper and deeper into debt) will only give the government more reason to acquire new power, to nationalize more and more of the resources of this country, and to increase the dependence of each and every American on itself. Even those with the best motives in the government institution can get so wrapped up in the "problem" that they don't see the damage they are doing to the future of their own country.

Again, good thoughts. Thanks for the fun pictures as well.

Sarcastic Sally said...

SO MANY WORDS!

*Runs*

Michael said...

The Constitution is what's supposed to protect us from the government's stupidity. Self regulation of the government will never work.

Ben&Brit said...

You almost sound like you've been reading Richard Maybury. :-)

Steven said...

Who is that?

Ben&Brit said...

Uh, an author who wrote books about government. They're actually interesting, short, and an easy read.

Steven said...

HA! I will never read! ALL MY IDEAS MUST BE ORIGINAL!

Or not.