Valuing the Laws of the Land

In any civilized society, laws are necessary to maintain peace and domestic tranquility and to protect the rights of innocent citizens. When laws are annulled or not enforced in a community, this sends a message to career criminals and potential lawbreakers that this is a safe haven for criminals, and that they can commit their crimes with impunity. The unintended consequences is that such communities attract anarchists and career criminals, so it instigates an exodus, of sorts, from scofflaws and miscreants. Many citizens who love the law and value their peace and tranquility will naturally move to safer communities where laws are enforced, leaving a vacuum for more lawbreakers to move in and then what is left is a cesspool of crime and lawlessness that can no longer be controlled. Those innocent citizens who are held hostage by organized crime rings, murderous gangs and masses of lone wolf offenders who are most likely to vote for corrupt politicians that would be less likely to interfere with their nefarious activities.

I love the laws of the land because I understand that they are there for our protection... the protection of the innocent and those who believe in prosperity and individual accountability. Laws not only keep us safe, but help communities to thrive and prosper. If you take a look at communities that have lost the governance of laws, you will most often see poverty and suffering. Lawlessness is linked to poverty. Poverty is not the cause of crimes, but crimes are the cause of poverty and this endless cycle leads some researchers to erroneously believe that causes other than crime and lawlessness are the cause of poverty. A micro example of this is that of a young adult who, rather than pursuing an education and working hard for his money, turns to drugs and resorts to theft and violent crimes to pay for his habit. This makes him unemployable, so the only option he then sees is to continue with a life of crime. On a macro level, there are communities that contain many such individuals and are unsafe to live.

As much as I love the law and believe in prosecution for those most likely to reoffend, I also believe in clemency for those in unique circumstances or offenders who show signs of rehabilitation. In some cases, an past offender who beats the odds, is willing to work hard and become a productive, law-abiding citizen and deserves another chance. Those who have made errors in judgment or are unaware of the laws, leading to relatively minor offenses should also be given a chance to redeem themselves, being able to stay "out of the system" that is designed mainly to incarcerate the most hardened and incorrigible criminals and those who willingly break laws in which the rights of others are infringed or harm is likely to occur to persons, property or the community. The punishment should fit the crime and restitution should be made to the victims, not to corrupt bureaucracies and greedy lawyers.

I would like to see our society moving in the direction of peace, tranquility and prosperity. It's going to take a lot of work and it may take some sacrifices from individuals and from organizations that have self-serving agendas. This concerted effort is also going to require those who love and sustain the laws, even those they don't personally agree with. We may not love the laws or actions of organizations, but there are legal and civilized ways that a first-world country can move in a positive direction. Lawmakers and local officials are elected to represent the best interests of their communities. When they cater only to special interest projects and shrill fringe extremists, they are not looking out for the best interests of their constituents. Good citizens vote and make our voices heard through civil communications and we set an example of law, order and selfless acts. I intend to do my part to make the community I live in a better place and I invite all others to take part as well.

True Activism

My method of activism is to get out there and get my hands dirty. If there are problems that need to get solved, I get involved in the community and volunteer my time, services and money when I can do so. This is, by far, the most effective way to solve problems. If there is pollution, we organize groups of people and clean it up. If there are weeds overgrowing the trails, we pull them up. If there are invasive species, we exterminate them. If there is a disaster, we help in restoration efforts and donate to the victims. 

Sometimes, there are troubling issues that need to be addressed that are beyond the scope of what we can do with our hands... or to tackle alone. One of the biggest banes to our communities now, are so-called "protesters" who trample on the rights of others, destroying property, injuring innocent people, disrupting infrastructures and holding disinterested citizens hostage while they block traffic or keep them from passing. These childish intimidation tactics are not only illegal, but these methods are not constitutionally protected. 

Some of these scofflaws or their supporters like to throw around terms like "compassion" or "empathy" without fully understanding what those terms mean or how these acts of insurrection adversely affect the lives of others. They don't know or care about the needs of those they are "inconveniencing" at the time. They don't know that perhaps somebody in one of those vehicles is suffering from a medical emergency and needs to get to a hospital. They don't realize that some of these people are on their way to work, and may lose their job if they are detained, and apparently they don't care. They don't have empathy for the children (or even adults) who need to use the restroom, but can't because there is no place to go or those who miss their flights or travel connections to funerals, weddings, childbirths, performances or myriad of other important life's events. They have no concept that maybe there is perhaps a medical professional on the way to save a person's life, but yeah... it's just an "inconvenience" to those who are not in full support of their petty protest. They don't care about the lost wages or the lost time that people could be spending with their loved ones. No, they have no empathy or compassion whatsoever for the lives of those they have adversely affected... or endangered. What is most important to them is the attention that they get that feeds their own narcissism. They jump on the bandwagon of whatever trendy cause célèbre that comes along, without regard for the rights or welfare of others - except for their perceived goodwill towards controversial issues. Some nut job has erroneously convinced them that unless they lockstep fall in line with whatever media-sensationalized, propaganda-induced faux cause comes into the public view... unless they cause a disturbance and disruption into their otherwise peaceful communities and public spaces, that they're going to end up on "the wrong side of history." This flawed logic is causing more harm to our communities and infrastructure than anything else has or could do at this time.

So, what I am proposing is that we protest the protesters. We disrupt their disruptions and we block their blockages. We inconvenience them in their inconveniencing and make it difficult to carry out their acts of insurrection. We resist their resistance and as a majority, we cease to be silent anymore and put up with their public tantrums. We, as law-abiding American citizens, have rights too. I have some ideas and as an innovator, I have some inventions and plans that will legally disrupt their illegal activities so that we can more rapidly get back to our peaceful lives and shut down their nonsense. Some of this may take some funding and group effort, but I believe that eventually we are going to be forced to take a stand and take back our communities from the anarchists that are destroying them. These lawbreakers need to be brought to justice and be held criminally liable as well as to compensate every last victims of their crimes - and anyone whose life is put in danger or who has been "inconvenienced" or has suffered hardships as a result of these miscreants should be compensated for their time and any damages or suffering that has occurred due to their thoughtless actions. We are a nation of laws and we, as citizens, need to uphold the laws in our communities. This... THIS is a form of activism that is important to ensure peace and tranquility and preserves the rights of the citizens in our communities, our states and this great nation.