Wow Craig, I'm not sure I can keep up with you! How many wpm do you type? lol.
CraigMaxim wrote:Chris,
We have city ordinances, state laws, and federal law. The idea of rule of law, is a powerful concept, particularly when it is self-rule, or rules society sets for itself. We find agreement (meaning compromise) on how we should GOVERN OURSELVES, and as a civilized community or nation, we AGREE to abide by those laws.
If we Agree as Americans that murder is o.k., can we pass a law legalizing it? Point being, the Rule of Law begins with the constitution which limits what is in the realm of acceptible law. All laws passed since build upon past legislation to flush out the particluar cases which express the intent of over-arching law. So yes, but there are limitations, and laws have to have some semblance of moral responsibility, that I would argue is not voted on. In otherwords, as a Christian, I'm not a moral relativist and I don't believe our laws were created with that mentality which is the source of the tension as we stray away from that mindset.
CraigMaxim wrote:If someone disagrees with the law, then the solution is to find like minded individuals and work to educate others and CHANGE the law. The solution is NOT to hate lawmakers, or those who enforce these laws.
I hope I didn't come accross as hating government officials. As a Christian, I don't even speak il of them among friends. I take issue only with their policies and ideology. I pray for them that they would make wise decisions, which I think they are failing miserablly at, hence the tone in some of my previous posts. But I certainly don't mean to come accross hateful if I did.
CraigMaxim wrote:We GOVERN ourselves in a Democracy or Republic.
If you GOVERN, you ARE the government. From little league referees and school board officials, to city legislators and federal lawmakers, we are ALL part of government, or SHOULD BE.
Population is TOO VAST and growing, to be islands any longer. The world's population is TOO VAST and growing, to be an isolated nation any longer.
WE MUST work together, for the common good of ALL, or we shall destroy ourselves.
Agreed, I think. I sense a little equivocation on the term government. There's Government with a big G, and then there's government with the little g. Big G are actual elected officials who under our system have a certain amount of freedom to vote their conscience, sometimes in opposition to the voter, which in and of itself is not bad. But the little "g" is more along the lines of self-government, which citizens do indeed have a responsibility.
Again, my concern is that the Government views the people as incapable of self-government and wants to take that responsibility to themselves. Every aspect of self-governance taken away is also a freedom taken away, because with self governance, is freedom to make those kinds of decisions in particular situations - expediency is left out to dry.
CraigMaxim wrote:
My two step-sons are going through the juvenile process, after getting into some trouble. I knew that they would be looked at as a number, because juvenile laws and punishments have become extreme, and there are huge numbers of our youth in the juvenile system. The solution was not to sit at home or just b*tch through the internet. The solution personally, was to MAKE those in authority over them, KNOW WHO THEY ARE, and also to KNOW WHO WE ARE, as parents. They are not numbers now, not after voluminous phone calls and meetings, with those in direct authority over them, and also those who are bosses over the authority figures, all the way up to the Governor's office. We have gotten things moving faster, gotten one of them moved to a better juvenile facility (though we were told this was almost impossible) and made MANY strides in insuring they were not lost in the system and overlooked.
It's called parenting.
I often go to visit them with my wife. When she can't visit, I go to see them alone. ( It's a 4 hour round trip) Their father rarely visits his "favorite" and the other, he has not visited at all.
When I go to these facilities, I am sometimes the ONLY person there for a visit, though there are over a hundred kids in just one facility. I am told by officials there, that some kids there have not had a visit in 6 months, some have not been visited even once, in 9 months.
The problem is not the government Chris.
I'm sorry to hear that, but also encouraged that you're making headway. Great job! You are a great example of a loving parent.
At risk of causing yet another rabbit trail, I also take issue with alot of the current penal codes. Many are too harsh in my opinion, and others are not harsh enough. Another thread (God forbid
.
That said, the nature of what you're describing is pretty much the result of the red tape monster. You're able to speak to people in the system, but the nature of the system regulates what they can and cannot do legally. The result is that they have to find loopholes if necessary, to move things along. It's all part and parcel with that kind of system. Government run *anything* won't be any less difficult. So I disagree with your last statement on that basis.
I don't see anything else I want to comment on.
Thanks for your insights, even though agreeing to disagree seems to be the way things are done on this forum
Chris
