As I read diaries, watch the news, read posts on here and elsewhere, something has been occuring to me. Not this isn't a NEW thing, but more a new way to express the issue.
We are moving from a "Nation of Laws" to a "Nation of Beliefs"
This is a rather scary thought, but it seems to be the pattern.
See in a Nation of Laws, things are mostly impartial, yes if the law itself isn't then bad things happen. But if the law is fair, then generally groups are all treated equallaly under the law. No ONE group can push another around. As I said, there have ben black marks, when the laws themselves have been changed to discrimanate. But overall a "Nation of Laws" has worked.
Except now, now we are becoming something else.. slowly.. We are becoming a "Nation of Beliefs"
See a belief doesn't have to pass the fairness test, a belief doesn't have to be agreed on. And in fact its gotten worse in fact as now a belief TRUMPS the law and the law is simply ignored. Before the law would try to be changed, yes sometimes it would be changed for the worse, but it existed inside the framework of law. And it was changed back eventually, but it was LAW and it was respected.
However the "Belief Nation" doesn't view things this way, if a law doesn't jive with the belief, its simply ignored. This has 2 effects.
- Law is no longer as important, and dampens the respect FOR law.
- Beliefs become the deciding factor in what is right and wrong. And since beliefs are much more exploitible than law, many many bad things can happen.
We are moving from
"Liberty and Justice for All"
to
"Liberty and Justice for those who belive what I do"