In civil society, individuals are expected to maintain the status of ‘law-abiding citizen’. Of course, we should all follow the law the best we can, and we should report those who violate any law to a government authority. Any deviation or noncompliance with the law should be condemned. Historically, obeying and enforcing the laws created by politicians has always correlated to high moral character.
The inception of the united states came about as the result of law-abiding colonial leaders who obeyed the King, his Governors, and Sheriffs. They followed every law and peacefully sought to ‘change the laws’ of the British Government. They never revolted against the government.
Years later, American politicians maintained the laws which authorized the enslavement of African Americans, and politicians and police used violence when necessary to enforce these laws, as the government does with all laws. When slaves escaped, law-abiding citizens reported the criminal fugitives to the police (also referred to as ‘slave patrol’, a term we should revive), and the police – who made sure to fulfill their duties and enforce all laws currently on the books – used their guns to ensure that the slaves were returned to their masters.
Throughout the 1930s, law-abiding citizens in Germany obeyed the laws, as well. When the law slowly began to mandate that Jews registered with the government and eventually identify themselves with a yellow star on their clothes and move to segregated ghettos, the righteous people of Germany and other Nazi-occupied territories reported the criminals who willfully broke the laws to the police. One of the famous German criminals who willfully violated the law in her home state of the Netherlands was Anne Frank.
Along with her family of fugitives who refused to comply with the law which required them to register with the government so that they could be accounted for and/or be put to work, Anne went into hiding. The family was discovered to be in violation of the registry law in 1944, and they were captured and then tortured and killed by the brave police who protected the community. Unfortunately, one of the criminals in the family survived the ordeal. These disobedient citizens were punished accordingly by the politicians and their ‘law enforcement’. As conservatives and progressives remind us every day:
“If you didn’t want to be punished, you should have just obeyed the law!”
In 1942, President Roosevelt passed a similar race-based registration and relocation law that required all Americans of Japanese descent to be placed in concentration camps. For the next four years, over 100,000 Japanese-Americans, most of which were US citizens were forced to live in prison-like camps, and these laws were enforced by brave police officers, of course.
After direct slavery was abolished, ‘Jim Crow Laws’ dictated how and when African Americans could work. The anti-black laws also prohibited them from using the same facilities as whites. So said the politicians. Most Americans were good, moral, law-abiding citizens. Some criminals willfully disobeyed the law, though. Anti-government activists such as Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. were among these criminals who should forever be condemned by law-abiding citizens.
In 2014, a man in NYC willfully violated the tax law and was rightfully punished by police. He resisted the punishment, so he was killed. If he hadn’t been a criminal, those brave police officers would not have killed him.
In the middle-east, criminals were recently arrested for publicly violating state law. Nearly every member of a civilized society would agree that those who violate laws ought to be punished. We all agree that laws are created by politicians elected by the members of society, making all laws inherently moral and popular. Why would a good person violate any law, then?
As the tide shifts in the US and as public and political support for red flag laws and other forms of gun restrictions and confiscation cause such laws to pass into law, we must all be sure to continue obeying ‘the law of the land’. If magazines that hold more than 10 rounds become illegal, we must turn them in. If semiautomatic firearms become illegal, we ought to surrender them to the police. If red flag laws pass, we must report all of the people we know who may have any mental illness (over 50% of Americans have some type of mental illness, according to the CDC). We must not become criminals. As an astute Tweet mentioned the other day, if you resist gun confiscation by the politicians and police, you are no longer the ‘law-abiding gun owner’ you claim to be. As nearly every American voter often reminds us, we MUST obey all of the laws, just as our ancestors always did. You don’t want politicians and police to call you a criminal, do you?
