You hear it time and time again, “Don’t like the law? Well, change it then.” Or, “America was built on the rule of law; we must obey it in order to keep civility in society and maintain the structure and security which the law provides.” This mentality of obeying the law has cost tens of millions of humans their lives; and ruined the lives of millions more. Before the question of how mindlessly obeying the law resulted in millions of unnecessary deaths is answered. Let’s consider the obvious historical cases. How many millions of people did Hitler kill? How about Mao Zedong or Joseph Stalin?
A quick Internet search will tell you that Hitler killed 30 million, Joseph Stalin killed 40 million and Mao Zedong killed 60 million. That’s a lot of people to die at the hands of three madmen, is it not? How is it that 130 million people perished at the hands of three men? The truth is Hitler, Stalin and Mao did not kill 130 million people. It was young men who were carrying out direct, legal orders and murdering millions of innocent young men, women and children. It was the countless bureaucrats and their enforcing agents with guns following orders, instead of following principles of morality and justice, which they were most likely raised to follow and which teaches to not kill.
This “follow the law” mentality is responsible for hundreds of millions of lost lives, yet which individual is responsible? When the soldier is given an order to kill, does he feel morally responsible for the life he took? After all, if he didn’t pull the trigger another soldier following the same order would’ve pulled the trigger. How about the commanding officer who issues the order? Does he feel the moral responsibility of murder? Why would he, since he didn’t pull the trigger. Hundreds of millions of mothers, fathers, brothers, and other loved ones, have died because soldiers are trained to follow laws and orders. But the bigger symptom that has allowed for these atrocities, is society’s acceptance of the idea that police officers and military personnel are simply doing their job. It’s not the police officers job to do what’s ethical, his job is to enforce the law, and that’s it.
The law is not justice and morality, it’s a collection of arbitrary rules put in place by politicians and bureaucrats. In order to live in a society which promotes harmony and justice, morality and peaceful transactions must shape society not politicians and their laws. America’s culture needs to change from one of obedience to politicians and their rules (laws), to one which fosters peace and justice. The truth is FDR didn’t put 120,000 innocent Japanese Americans in enslavement camps, I doubt he locked the gate on one person. It was American soldiers who put their moral judgment aside and stripped innocent humans of their livelihood, property and freedom. Is this the type of world we want to live in? A world where bureaucrats with guns follow the orders of officials regardless of the outcome of those orders.
This mentality which has killed hundreds of millions is evident in everyday society and no one realizes it. The officer arresting someone for smoking weed and ruining that person’s life, is exemplifying the same follow the law mentality as the American soldier who followed orders to put 120,000 innocent people in enslavement camps. The officer who gives someone a tinted window ticket, exemplifies the same lack of property respect as the Russian soldiers who stripped Ukrainians of their land under Stalin’s rule (resulting in wide spread famine). The IRS agent who takes your money with the threat of imprisonment exemplifies the same mentality as the old school gangster that demands protection money or else. The uncomfortable truth is that leaders don’t kill millions, followers of the law do. Which one are you?
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