The Rule of Law

There are few things as sadly funny to me as hearing a politician or celebrity come out against something, or someone, with a claim the thing they oppose will discredit or destroy “the rule of law” in this country.  Senator Feinstein is just the latest to claim that President Trump’s calling for an independent investigation of the investigators will undermine our faith in the rule of law.

To see her say we are a nation of laws reminds me she and all her peers believe we are really a nation that chooses what laws we enforce and what laws we ignore when there are political advantages to be gained.  We see that most clearly in the immigration debate, although it is also obvious in the on-going rants on gun ownership.

The civil rights movement in this nation began with the recognition we needed to make laws equal for all persons, not just the rich, the powerful, and the white.  When the civil war ended the winners set out to do that, but it took a renewal of effort in the post-World War II period to overcome the institutional resistance we had built to ensure the white majority could still dominate the minorities. 

Unfortunately, I am not sure we have or ever will achieve the ideal of “blind justice” and have complete equality under the law, for those who are charged with creating, administering, and enforcing the laws are human and subject to the shortcomings of being human.  The interesting outcome of this human condition is now the elite among the minorities appear to be setting out on a path of reverse discrimination where they believe “separate but equal” is a viable option.  I wonder what Thurgood Marshall would think of this approach?  It is almost as if they have come to agree with the whites who really are racist, not just the ones they accuse of being so.

So for the foreseeable future, we will remain a nation that follows the rule of law, kind of, when it’s convenient and self-serving to do so.