You hear this phrase in the media whenever they are all hyped up about something they don’t like. You never hear it when something they like has happened. That is exactly opposite of what the rule of law is all about.
It sounds simple enough. Rule of law just means there are laws, right? ‘Fraid not. Rule of law means far more than that. Rule of law means that laws apply to the leaders and the powerful, not just followers and the weak. It means the President has to obey the law just like everyone else. It also means the FBI, the Federal government, corporations, rich people, minorities, majorities, multinational conglomerates, the media and everybody else ALSO has to obey the law, like it or not.
This is also where we get the corollary concept that is just as important of equality before the law. Whether you are rich or poor, black or white, smart or dumb, in power or powerless doesn’t matter at all – in a court of law it is all the same. This is why those little statues of Justice wear blindfolds. Justice is more important than personage.
This is also why Affirmative Action was a very bad idea. Even if well intentioned, it was a camel’s nose under the tent of the rule of law. Justice isn’t blind if she is peeking at your race.
Before you point out that Affirmative Action went a lot further than just the courtroom, so does the rule of law. Our whole system is predicated on the idea that no one is above the law and that all are equal before the law. When government puts its thumb on the scale to try and fix some societal wrong, it is picking sides. No matter how worthy the goal, government cannot be partial if it is to represent all the people of the nation, whether politically in vogue or not.
This is far from government’s first foray into fixing society. Probably far from its last try, too. But government is ill suited for the task. It can represent hundreds of millions in a few, well defined matters, but it only mangles attempts to rectify the enormous problem of societal ills. A few representatives, even well chosen, are not omniscient and therefore aren’t up to that task.
Because people make mistakes. The guy with a 4.0 from Harvard forgot to change his oil and is having a new engine installed as we speak. Einstein made arithmetic errors. You blew a presentation because you pulled up the wrong graph. Your representative voted for the stupidest legislation ever. Humans just come this way.
Government doesn’t improve matters. Lots of power just means that the mistakes blow up much more spectacularly than forgetting to take out the garbage would. Science is just a method of study; it doesn’t make really smart people any less likely to make really stupid mistakes. Reason and logic are just methods of thinking about things that make us more likely to get correct results; even perfectly sound logic can get a wrong conclusion. None of these things will magically perfect humans or government.
And government uncontrolled can do a lot of harm.
We think, rightly, of the Constitution as the means by which we control our government. This is true, but only to a point. The Constitution is a bridle. A bridle can help control an ornery horse or a good one. It cannot control a wild horse. For that we need a foundation – a paddock – that keeps the horse in bounds while we get it under control. The Rule of Law is that paddock. It is the foundation that the Constitution depends upon.
The law can and should be changed when it is unfair or wrong. That’s what the legislatures are for – it’s literally written into the Constitution as Congress’ main job. But while it is in effect, no one is above the law and no one gets special consideration from the law. No. One.
Not Democrat or Republican, rich or poor, black or white, Christian or atheist, or any other person or entity is ever special in the eyes of the law. “We are a nation of laws, not men” – you know you’ve heard that phrase before. Well, THIS is what it means. The law is the foundation by which we rule ourselves, and it should never show partiality to any person, company or government.
Lady Justice needs her blindfold. Frankly, it’s past time she put it back on, if necessary, with our help.
