
It Is Everyone’s Duty To Defy Unjust Laws - Uncle_Sam
http://torrentfreak.com/it-is-everybodys-duty-to-defy-unjust-laws-110529/
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btilly
_A society where people regard rules as general guidelines is a lot healthier
for its neighbors and citizens alike than a society where laws and rules are
enforced blindly and swiftly._

Very, very bad advice.

A society (like our own) where everyone is in violation of the law at all
times is a society where the authorities can go after anyone, at any time, for
any reason and make something stick. It's called "selective enforcement".

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Meai
This article is kind of a trainwreck, but I want to say that generally I'm
glad when this kind of rhetoric is coming up. There are a few caveats though
which I want to address first: The word "duty" is a human invention, and as
such has only meaning in human societies. Depending on the particular society,
it may in fact be your duty to do one or the other thing. Ironically the word
"duty" and these conclusions imply exactly that which torrentfreak argues
against: Blind obedience.

Now, as politely as possible, I want to point out that this is the kind of
rhetoric useful for discourse with stupid people. It's a somewhat good sign
actually, because invariably stupid people have to be the target of discourse,
maybe even the main target. Surprisingly I'm glad whenever I read about these
kinds of arguments, because it means that the discussion has finally landed
'in the trenches', where the actual battle will be lost or won. Similarly I
was glad to hear people in the U.S starting to call healthcare a "right". The
same caveats as before apply here. It's not a right unless society starts to
define it as such inside its body of laws.

Philosophically I'm opposed to the direction in this article/blogpost, even
though it may be necessary for stupid people. Really we have way too few laws
and the only reason we are experiencing problems is exactly because of things
torrentfreak tries to advocate for: Personal responsibility. Police officers
acting out of hand, politicians not being of integrity...all this can be
amended by laws that are fair and which are executed to the letter with zero
room for personal interpretation. Let's not go the religious route and start
calling laws in general "open for interpretation". That'd just open a whole
new can of horrors. We are not perfect, but laws are what holds us together.
To say it as unequivocally as possible: The goal should be to have laws that
can be followed as blindly as possible and which are executed as mercilessly
as possible. Until then, let's not destroy the fabric of trust that our
society is built upon and name the real problem. Imperfect laws, not laws in
general.

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dzuc
Inscribed on two statues outside the NYC Appellate Courthouse:
<http://i.imgur.com/81Lhp.jpg> / <http://i.imgur.com/Bd8IY.jpg>

"Every law not based on wisdom is a menace to the state" / "We must not use
force till just laws are defied"

