Lawlessness

Lawlessness, it has become a big problem in this country.  From the petty thing as driving too fast, to the shameless antisemitism that is sweeping the country, to the trafficking of youngsters and women, to drugs that can kill an entire city, to politicians who act on insider information to the detriment of honest citizens who have no conduit to such information, to the defiance of lawful orders from law enforcement officers, these are but a few instances of the  lawlessness that infects our Republic.

In an earlier time in the western US, vigilante justice often served as the only viable law in a near lawless society.  It may not have been pretty, but it was effective.  Is that where we are headed? 

Judges who feel they have the right to hand down sentences that do not reflect the will of the people and juries who defend actions the American public view as heinous. Is this not judicial lawlessness?

Lawless activities by elected officials defies the very idea of a lawful society.  Solon, the ancient Greek philosopher wrote, “To make an empire durable, the magistrates must obey the laws and the people the magistrates”. (638 – 558 BC) Does this not speak to the problem at hand?

I have no magic wand that I can wave and make this go away, but I do think that for We the People to ignore such activity can only lead to more acts of lawlessness. 

An old cowboy saying comes to mind, “Half assed measures yield half assed results”.

Not to put too sharp a point on it, but; lawless acts erode the freedom of all law-abiding citizens.

Former Federal Judge Learned Hand said in a 1944 speech, “liberty did not mean the freedom to do as one likes.  That is the denial of liberty, and leads straight to its overthrow, A society in which men recognize no check upon their freedom soon becomes a society where freedom is the possession of only a savage few”.

I for one, have no desire to live in such a society.

Walt Mow 2025