Signing of the Constitution 1787
Sunday, March 7, 2010
"Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it; and this I know, my Lords, that where law ends tyranny begins!"
(William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, speaking in the House of Lords, January 9, 1770; cited from John Almon Anecdotes of the Life of the Right Hon. William Pitt, Earl of Chatham (London: J. S. Jordan, 1792) vol. 2, p. 21.)
If I had to choose between power or law similar to John Wayne and James Stewart's characters in "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance", I do not believe that it would be possible. I believe one is synonomous with the other. Law is necessary and in order to enforce law power is necessary. However, like the quote above states, too much power corrupts and without law tranny begins.
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I completely agree, once we make laws to protect us from those who have a different sence of what is right or wrong. At that point they need to be enforced otherwise the law will be ignored and is completely useless. Some laws are minor and are very hard to enforce, like our cell phone law and its use while driving.
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