ISSUE #3

ISSUE #3 ”Laws should not be rigid or fixed. Instead, they should be flexible enough to take account of various circumstances, times, and places.”

Laws are rules that are recognized by a society as a means of regulating it’s members. Maintaining a civilized and orderly society requires balance and fairness in law, thus laws should not be so rigid and fixed that the members of the society feel put-out by radical-enforcers. Nor, however, should laws be so flexible and willy-nilly that the members of the society feel put-off by pacifists!

The basic and fundamental principles for governing the United States of America, come in the form of the Constitution. This brilliantly-crafted document has long been known for the since that it is a “living” document – that is, a document that is not so rigid and fixed that it is not applicable – over 200 years later! – to the nation for which it was written. It’s flexibility allows for modern-day interpretation and enforcement in ways that are balanced and fair, and thus can be considered the foundation of our civilized and ordered society. Here are some examples of circumstance, time, and place, where the flexibility of laws evidence the staying-power of fairness and freedom in our country.

Firstly, regarding circumstance. It is unlawful to take the life of another individual. Murder and man-slaughter are offenses in which the penalty of the perpetrator can result in significant jail time or even a death sentence. The law, however, is flexible for circumstances in which the death of an individual is the result of the self-dense if another. A rigid and fixed law would say that the man who shot a robber should go to jail. This, of course, would lead to imbalance, and is certainly unfair. If all robbers knew there was no physical risk involved in breaking and entering, breaking and entering would be an even more common occurrence. 

Secondly, regarding time. It is unlawful to expose minors to certain types of sexual or linguistic content. Therefore, the FCC regulates the types of content allowed on television air-waves during certain times of the day. Adult-themed programming can only occur later in the evening, and not, say, at four in the afternoon when kids are returning home from school. A rigid and fixed law would say that NO adult-themed content, at ANY time, can be shown on T.V. This, of course, would lead to a sense of unfairness regarding the free speech that is so revered in our country.

Lastly, regarding place. It is unlawful to expose oneself in public places. Fines and jail time can be the outcome of public indecency cases. The law, however, is flexible regarding place in that a man or woman will not be ticketed for walking around nude in the privacy of their own home!

While these examples are admittedly taking the flexibility of laws to the extreme, it is on the edge of extreme that that flexibility is sometimes needed to maintain balance and fairness in society. Laws should not be rigid and fixed. They should be flexible in various circumstances, times, and places. In an effort to not be so flexible that pacifism is the result, and to not be so rigid and fixed that radicalism is the result, politicians should, and do, define those instances as clearly as possible.