The Rule of Law

The Rule of Law

When we remove the source of our liberties, our freedoms cannot but soon follow. Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore defied a federal order to remove the Ten Commandments monument from the state judicial Building, some erstwhile allies broke ranks with the judge. Alabama's governor and attorney general, who both support public display of the Ten Commandments, announced Moore was wrong to disregard the order.

So who's right? Roy Moore or his critics?

The first thing to remember is that when Alabama voters elected Moore as their state's chief justice he received a mandate to restore the moral foundation of law-to display the Ten Commandments-which was the centerpiece of his campaign.

It was federal judge Myron Thompson, aided by the eight members of the Alabama Supreme Court, who acted to overturn the will of the voters by removing the monument. The U.S. Constitution begins, "We, the people." But the principle that here, the people rule, was effectively dismissed by these Alabama officials who equate a judge's opinion with the rule of law.

You would think they would know Alabama history better. Martin Luther King, Jr., wrote in 1963 in his Letter from the Birmingham Jail, that "A just law is man-made code that squares with the moral law of God. Unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law." That distinction was apparently lost on Alabama Attorney General Bill Pryor who, in opposing Moore, said, "My responsibility is to uphold the Constitution and the rule of law, and I will be doing my duty."

But how can he uphold the rule of law when he acts to gut its foundation-the recognition that man's laws must conform "to the laws of nature and of nature's God?" This country was founded when some very brave state officials gathered together in Philadelphia to defy the "rule of law" of King George III. The Founders said his "rule of law" was aimed at "absolute tyranny" over the states. So they acted in a fashion consistent with a long Western legal tradition that dates at least to St. Augustine, who said, "An unjust' law is no law at all."

The edicts of federal courts-indeed all courts-must be obeyed. But when a court usurps the will of the people and acts in a manner intended to destroy the foundation on which our freedom rests;_ it is the right, indeed the duty, of elected officials to call that act what it is, tyranny, and to refuse to obey.

If we slavishly equate all court rulings with the rule of law, we would still have slavery in America. The U.S. Supreme Court told us in 1857 that a man has the right to own another man in the Dred Scott decision. Abraham Lincoln violated that rule of law. He issued the Emancipation Declaration in direct defiance of that decision. He violated the rule of law and is today a hero.

For the last forty years or so, federal courts have eroded and almost eliminated the right to acknowledge God. They have progressively removed the principle that is at the foundation of our freedom. In Moore's case, which tests whether the state may acknowledge God, we may be at a final watershed. If we, as a nation, fully and finally dismiss God from public life-watch out. When we remove the source of our liberties, our freedoms cannot but soon follow.
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I would agree with Saint Augustine that 'An unjust law is no law at all. Martin Luther King, 1963 Letter from a Birmingham Jail.

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	The Rule of Law
	When we remove the source of our liberties, our freedoms cannot but soon follow. Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore defied a federal order to remove the Ten Commandments monument from the state judicial Building, some erstwhile allies broke ranks with the judge. Alabama's governor and attorney general, who both support public display of the Ten Commandments, announced Moore was wrong to disregard the order. So who's right? Roy Moore or his critics? The first thing to remember is that when Alabama voters elected Moore as their state's chief justice he received a mandate to restore the moral foundation of law-to display the Ten Commandments-which was the centerpiece of his campaign. It was federal judge Myron Thompson, aided by the eight members of the Alabama Supreme Court, who acted to overturn the will of the voters by removing the monument. The U.S. Constitution begins, "We, the people." But the principle that here, the people rule, was effectively dismissed by these Alabama officials who equate a judge's opinion with the rule of law. You would think they would know Alabama history better. Martin Luther King, Jr., wrote in 1963 in his Letter from the Birmingham Jail, that "A just law is man-made code that squares with the moral law of God. Unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law." That distinction was apparently lost on Alabama Attorney General Bill Pryor who, in opposing Moore, said, "My responsibility is to uphold the Constitution and the rule of law, and I will be doing my duty." But how can he uphold the rule of law when he acts to gut its foundation-the recognition that man's laws must conform "to the laws of nature and of nature's God?" This country was founded when some very brave state officials gathered together in Philadelphia to defy the "rule of law" of King George III. The Founders said his "rule of law" was aimed at "absolute tyranny" over the states. So they acted in a fashion consistent with a long Western legal tradition that dates at least to St. Augustine, who said, "An unjust' law is no law at all." The edicts of federal courts-indeed all courts-must be obeyed. But when a court usurps the will of the people and acts in a manner intended to destroy the foundation on which our freedom rests;_ it is the right, indeed the duty, of elected officials to call that act what it is, tyranny, and to refuse to obey. If we slavishly equate all court rulings with the rule of law, we would still have slavery in America. The U.S. Supreme Court told us in 1857 that a man has the right to own another man in the Dred Scott decision. Abraham Lincoln violated that rule of law. He issued the Emancipation Declaration in direct defiance of that decision. He violated the rule of law and is today a hero. For the last forty years or so, federal courts have eroded and almost eliminated the right to acknowledge God. They have progressively removed the principle that is at the foundation of our freedom. In Moore's case, which tests whether the state may acknowledge God, we may be at a final watershed. If we, as a nation, fully and finally dismiss God from public life-watch out. When we remove the source of our liberties, our freedoms cannot but soon follow. ============== I would agree with Saint Augustine that 'An unjust law is no law at all. Martin Luther King, 1963 Letter from a Birmingham Jail.
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