MAYBE THE LAW IS THE ASS, NOT THE PEOPLE
MAYBE the problems of the world are not caused by people breaking laws. Maybe the laws themselves are the problem.
In most modern, democratic countries we are constantly worrying about protecting the rights of the people from abuse by the state.
We have become so besotted with the notion of “human rights” that we have forgotten there was once the idea of “human duties”.
We now have whole libraries of laws for our protection. It seems to me that society is not run by governments any more. It is run by lawyers. In most conflicts, the winner is the person who can afford the best lawyer.
And even when a court has found you guilty, you can appeal to a higher court to have the first court’s decision overturned.
“I agree, your honour, but according to Amendment 47(b)iii of the Criminal Rights Act 412 (e) of As long as he has lawyers on his side digging up more laws from the books, he can probably stall the process forever.
Now Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has decreed that the Zondo Commission into State Capture must pack up soon.
They’ve cost the country a lot of money and have little to show for it, he said. So the whole matter of Accused Number 1 is likely to fade from memory and quietly vanish like the morning mist.
We may wonder why American President Donald Trump was so eager to appoint a new Supreme Court judge before the presidential election but the answer is not a mystery. A friendly judge is a powerful weapon in your political armoury.
Besides, anyone can fire a cannon but it’s impossible to fire a judge. My views are not original. Charles Dickens is often quoted as saying, “The law is an ass,” and Shakespeare said (in Henry VI) “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.”
I rest my case. Things are much simpler in nature. If a rival lion moves into your hunting ground you don’t call a jackal to argue with him.
You kill him. Or, if he’s stronger than you he kills you.
Either way, the problem is solved. If human laws ruled nature the King of the Jungle would not be a lion. It would be a rat.
Last Laugh
Two goats were rummaging about on the city rubbish dump when one of them unearthed an old CD of a James Bond movie and started chewing it.
“What’s it like?” Asked his companion.
“Not bad, but frankly I preferred the book.”