Respect for the Law - The Other Casualty of the War on Drugs

fenderbender · 07-05-2011, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Lawmakers of Ancient Rome believed that good laws must be obeyed absolutely. They also believed that any law widely disobeyed by the people was a bad law; not only was it a waste of legal energy, it had the effect of corrupting the law itself.

Why? Because when a particular law is routinely disobeyed by large numbers of people, laws in general become relative, leaving the test of whether a law is reasonable or not up to the individual.

That’s how the last couple of generations have responded to drug laws.

‘It’s against the law’ was once a notion that most people respected. “Who cares if it’s against the law?” is often the response these days.

more here
Editorial: Respect for the Law - The Other Casualty of the War on Drugs

Haven't really heard this argument used before and it's a good one and makes a lot of sense.

Any thoughts on this?

**SageTree** · 07-05-2011, 02:04 PM

YouTube - ‪Dead Kennedys:I Fought the Law:La 1984‬&rlm;

deadhead94 · 07-05-2011, 02:05 PM

I only respect laws that are made out of common sense and the need for society to run without major disruptions.

other than those, the law can go fuck itself.

Suliman · 07-05-2011, 03:20 PM

I've been thinking about this forever

Weak and often broken laws have a polarising effect, where people either blindly follow every law, or become doubtful of and unwilling to respect any law.

Not including drugs, when was the last time you went a whole week without breaking the law? A day? When was the last time you drove somewhere without speeding, rolling through stop signs, talking on your phone or not wearing your seatbelt?

Its hard to respect any law when you and everyone around you break them on a daily basis

I think the only laws we should have are those that can be enforced close to %100 of the time

Geeno · 07-07-2011, 06:33 PM

you know just cause i didnt do a bunch a fancy book learnin doesnt mean i didnt know that

wellfleation · 07-07-2011, 06:58 PM

A country should not base laws on a majorities morale norms. In other words, it is not the government's job to legislate morality. Laws are to protect people from one another not to protect people from themselves. We all have the right to make bad decisions if the outcome is only harmful to ourselves.

07-07-2011, 06:58 PM	#6 (permalink)
wellfleation Old School Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Methuen, MASSHOLE Posts: 3,853 Thanks: 195 Thanked 601 Times in 427 Posts	A country should not base laws on a majorities morale norms. In other words, it is not the government's job to legislate morality. Laws are to protect people from one another not to protect people from themselves. We all have the right to make bad decisions if the outcome is only harmful to ourselves. __________________ FIGHTPOWER

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