Our fear is causing a loss of the rule of law

 7 comment(s)  
 E-mail Story
 Print Story
  Share

 digg it!
 Facebook
 del.icio.us
Seed Newsvine
Fark It
Reddit

Text Size: 

Tools Sponsor

By DOUGLAS K. GERMAN / For the Lincoln Journal Star

Recently I asked a group of future leaders in a rural Nebraska community whether they were familiar with the term “rule of law.” A couple of hands went up, half-heartedly. The theme for Law Day 2008 is “The Rule of Law: Foundation for Communities of Opportunity and Equity.”

The importance of the rule of law is apparently not well understood, lacks support and there even may be hostility toward it. For some, notably politicized faith communities, the rule of law means the loss of their values agenda.

So I posed this to a friend: Suppose you had a strong values-based political agenda. If you were a conservative, for example, that agenda might include no gun control, no abortions, minimal government and similar issues. We could pose a liberal agenda just as well.

Then suppose you had a choice: Make this values-based agenda dominant throughout our nation, or keep and strengthen our democratic, open society with the mixture of values we have traditionally enjoyed. Which would most people choose? Are many people now ready to forgo the rule of law, based on democratic principles, for what they consider a greater set of values? To the extent this happens, and I believe it is in some quarters, we are flirting with fascism. It can come from the left or the right.

What is driving this development is fear. Fear as a result of Sept. 11. Fear intentionally whipped up by certain political interests. And more insidious fears, fears of loss of self-worth and security and a fear of death without resurrection, which make people vulnerable to demagogues and charlatans. Because of fear we are losing moderation, give-and-take, tolerance and, yes, the rule of law.

The loss of the rule of law can be so subtle. … It was a glorious day in the central plaza of Cali, Colombia. It was 1973. The sun was shining and people were bustling along the sidewalks, enjoying shopping and each other. I was on my way to an appointment, taking in the sights. There was freedom in the air.

Suddenly, several tarp-covered army trucks pulled into the square. Soldiers with machine guns jumped out and randomly grabbed men, women and children by the arm and put them into the trucks. Then they drove off. The rest of us went about our business as if nothing happened. To this day I have no idea what happened to those people. I learned later this was done to intimidate the citizens to prevent them from joining national demonstrations. There was no rule of law that day.

Given the fear we are experiencing, it is so easy to think, “It doesn’t involve me. It’s those other guys. If they are after them, it must be for a good reason.” All the while, our individual rights and Constitutional protections are being eroded.

The president says he can unilaterally, without review, declare war and finger a citizen an enemy-combatant. That person then loses all rights and can be tortured. If necessary, will we fight back? Defend our tradition of the rule of law? The Pakistani judges and lawyers did. They protested, took to the streets and resigned their positions for the rule of law.

Douglas K. German is executive director of Legal Aid of Nebraska.