Im not a total fan of everything Jimmy Carter did, but I do love to read his speeches. In an election season when youre feeling cynical, I think its good to re-read his Law Day address when he was Governor of Georgia, shortly before his Presidential run. My favorite bit: I grew up as a landowners son. But I dont think I ever realized the proper interrelationship between the landowner and those who worked on a farm until I heard Dylans record, I Aint Gonna Work on Maggies Farm No More. So I come here speaking to you today about your subject with a base for my information founded on Reinhold Niebuhr and Bob Dylan. Justice in a Sinful World One of the things that Niebuhr says is that the sad duty of the political system is to establish justice in a sinful world. He goes on to say that theres no way to establish or maintain justice without law; that the laws are constantly changing to stabilize the social equilibrium of the forces and counterforces of a dynamic society; and that the law in its totality is an expression of the structure of government. Well, as a farmer who has now been in office for 3 years, Ive seen firsthand the inadequacy of my own comprehension of what government ought to do for its people. Ive had a constant learning process, sometimes from lawyers, sometimes from practical experience, sometimes from failures and mistakes that have been pointed out to me after they were made. I had lunch this week with the members of the Judicial Selection committee, and they were talking about a consent search warrant. I said I didnt know what a consent search warrant was. They said, Well, thats when two policemen go to a house. One of them goes to the front door and knocks on it, and the other one runs around to the back door and yells come in. I have to admit that as governor, quite often, I search for ways to bring about my own hopes; not quite so stringently testing the law as that, but with a similar motivation. narsil.org/index/peopl/jimmycarter/lawday
Posted on: Thu, 16 Oct 2014 02:33:56 +0000
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