If a law is unfavorable and a majority of people don't think fondly of the law, why should we uphold said law? America was built on many ideas, two of them being that each human has their own amendments, and that the majority has an opinion on what happens to our nation. Now if a law were to violate an amendment, such as the first amendment, would it not make sense to break the law to defend what we built our nation on? The first amendment states that every human has the right and freedom to assemble without government interference. However, a lot of protests recently have ended in blood-shed and lost lives. A prime example of a peaceful protest gone wrong is the Oscar Grant protest. After Oscar was killed by a police officer, 500 people marched upon the station to protest his death. Tear gas was opened, people were hurt, and in the end 120 people were arrested. These men and women wanted nothing other than to protest the death of a fellow human and friend and in return they were attacked.
Now, we all view police officers as upholders and enforcers of the law. So to assume that the police officers were acting by law when attacking the defenseless citizens makes sense! Yet, the law is what harmed these innocent people. The law is what sparked more riots to occur, because the law is what shut down these protesters' first amendment. This is a prime example as to why I believe that if you think a law is oppressive, and is acting against you, you have all rights to break it. If standing up for what you believe in means breaking the law, then so be it.
As I stated previously, these laws are doing nothing but harming our fellow citizens. We are fighting ourselves in an effort to uphold rules. We are acting like a bunch of little kids. Instead of arguing over what's right or wrong, why don't we change so there is only right and no wrong. "I ask for, not at once no government, but at once a better government." (Thoreau). My view on how the government acts is very much formed by what Thoreau wrote. Everything he expressed seemed true to me, a little exaggerated, but none-the-less true. To create change we must stop fighting and act on the violence before it consumes our nation.
I have got to hand it to you. Law itself unequivocally creates oppression, which at some points, becomes so great that it drives men mad, mad enough to incite violence via riots and protests. Terrorism itself is the philosophy of coercing fellow humans towards concurrence with one's ideals, utilizing fear which is generally invoked through brutality. But although the Law restrains us, we have got to remember that the entirety of the universe works in a sort of symbiosis with its counterpart. Much as life cannot exist without death, order cannot exist without chaos. The Law is the boundary, between order and chaos. It protects us and allows society to flow.
ReplyDeleteOverall, Great work!
Amun, my condolences to brother Grant and his family.