“What Can Go Wrong, Will Go Wrong,” is a concept that planners use to create systems and design products so that problems that can be anticipated are prevented before they occur. As a simple example, in my office, a prior employee of mine kept leaving an envelope printing apparatus disengaged from its storage position in such a manner, that every time I saw it I thought, that is going to get damaged because it was in the line of travel past the copier. Sure enough, what can go wrong did. I make sure now, after it was replaced that no one leaves it in that position.
What people don’t realize is that the same principle applies to laws. Most of our laws are set up to anticipate what we know about human nature. Some misguided people think that themselves, certain groups, certain religions, or certain governments don’t need checks and balances or certain legal constraints because they are somehow more enlightened or more perfect than others. This is folly. If the laws are so weak that the NSA can violate our rights, it will violate them. If individuals or businesses are not prohibited from discriminating based on sexual orientation, sex, race etc. they will so discriminate, and if a government, business, individual is allowed to exercise absolute unchecked power with no checks and balances on the way that power is used, it will be abused regardless of the person or persons involved.
We have a relatively free and just country not because there is something inherently or genetically wonderful about us, but because of the legal systems that we have set up, covenanted to follow and which we venerate.
Loren M. Lambert © February 10, 2012
What people don’t realize is that the same principle applies to laws. Most of our laws are set up to anticipate what we know about human nature. Some misguided people think that themselves, certain groups, certain religions, or certain governments don’t need checks and balances or certain legal constraints because they are somehow more enlightened or more perfect than others. This is folly. If the laws are so weak that the NSA can violate our rights, it will violate them. If individuals or businesses are not prohibited from discriminating based on sexual orientation, sex, race etc. they will so discriminate, and if a government, business, individual is allowed to exercise absolute unchecked power with no checks and balances on the way that power is used, it will be abused regardless of the person or persons involved.
We have a relatively free and just country not because there is something inherently or genetically wonderful about us, but because of the legal systems that we have set up, covenanted to follow and which we venerate.
Loren M. Lambert © February 10, 2012
No comments:
Post a Comment