There came a time in the chain of human events when a resourceful legislator among aimless, conflicting tribal customs was able to convene the group or warring tribes in order to minimize wasteful energies among them theretofore expended on suspicion of estranged otherness, and paranoia within the symbiosis of a group. This was the dawn of the struggle in forming the social contract that would eventuate cooperative spirit to level off excessive protectiveness of individuals and groups, thereby creating a unity that could take hold and grow. Since, there followed many codes of legislation, among them — Hammurabi’s, Moses’, Buddha’s and Jesus’ Pericles’ and Justinian’s, Napoleon’s, Rousseau’s natural law, and English common law our founding fathers adopted, all of which furthered the growth of cooperative spirit of the state that paradoxically unleashed the creative energy of individuals, for under the protection of laws individuality of value flourishes.
In modern times — particularly in developed democracies — we tend to forget that the backdrop to individual growth and inventiveness is society and state as there are no captains without a ship and those who have toiled endlessly in ship-building. Accolades are freely tossed round the globe at creative individuals as though on their own are responsible for the development of leadership in politics, intellect, goods and services, wealth, and morality. Without the blood, sweat and tears of collective human endeavor through the centuries to make a better world, there would be no celebrated individuals free today leading the pack in governance, commerce, labor, and the arts. Those who boast that their success is in spite of government, suffer a lapse in memory, else they would have to acknowledge that their success is because of the rule of law in society in which is their privilege to participate.
There are those who espouse unwarranted liberty to those at the top who are leaders in the myriad of industries and arts, as though these captains perform miraculously without the underpinnings of a stable ship. One needs only to observe the many good works in Iraq explosively unraveled by insurgents, or the tragic 9/11 disruption of so many lives destined to do good things, to realize how important is the rule of law, however imperfect, in contributing to the freedom of individuals. It is true that the state exists in order that individuals may thrive peacefully in behalf of themselves and others; and equally true that the individual has a duty of gratitude to the state. A Rolls Royce is only as good as the pubic highways it is privileged to run on. Microsoft would be meaningless without the PC and conversely; further both owe its existence to the pioneers at AT&T and Xerox researchers of the 50s and 60s. Google would not be in the daily lexicon were it not for the extraordinary government and private investments in kick-starting the internet. Politicians themselves defy the rule of law and make a mockery of its foundations and glorious edifice they are sworn to protect. That said, this does not by any means take away from the good or deflate the strides of the present to effectuate fruition of its origins, which also owe allegiance to its predecessors — each generation is entitled to its heroes of excellence. Still, implicit is that we not forget the overriding matrix that makes it all possible.
That is why it is heart rending that so many are enemies of governance whether it be the function of law or within the self and its field of private and public endeavors.
Copyright © 2005 Richard R. Kennedy All rights reserved. Revised: January 7, 2006.
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