The myth of the Rule of Law is this- if people mostly are satisfied with the system they are in, then they will overwhelmingly perpetuate the myth of the Rule of Law. When that happens, then Rule of Law exists, but not for the reason people think it does. There is no ideal, no abstract phrase written on a piece of paper that could magically create Rule of Law. The Law always comes down to a balance between the power of the governed and the power of the governing. If and when the governed are able to exert power to resist law that the governing either cant or wont match, then Rule of Law disappears. I believe that the percentage of people who are fundamentally no longer satisfied with the system we now possess is moving dangerously close to a tipping point. There are various reasons why Americans are no longer satisfied with this system. Some sense that the progressive dream of finally creating equality and justice for all is about to go up in smoke. Some sense that the ability to live your life and not lose your business or your voice in the public square for holding the wrong view is going away. Still others are beginning to sense that there is no great security, no great opportunity for prosperity, for raising your families as you would choose in the disunited and increasingly polarized, politicized America we now see today. The rise of mistrust of police, the rise (or at least the perception of that rise, which is sometimes enough) of injustice by the police, the dissatisfaction that the progressives are now experiencing with their own party and leaders, the dissatisfaction that the conservatives are now experiencing with their own party and leaders is further heightening the sense of dissatisfaction that will lead increasingly higher numbers of people to disobey the Rule of Law. We may look back at this time and see it as the storm before a new re-emergence of what it means to be an American or we may look back at this time as the end of the American Union, where new nations and states will emerge from the ashes of the unfulfilled dream of liberty begun on April 19th, 1775. Perhaps, in the end, our progeny may come to realize that so long as we put our faith in government, our hope in politicians, our identity in parties, we will never hope to taste even a shadow of the liberty we hoped a state would give us.
Posted on: Mon, 01 Dec 2014 04:41:53 +0000
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