Loopholes are destroying 'rule of law' in America

Thursday, January 4, 2001

By GREGORY J. RUMMO
Special to The Record

What would happen if the Borough Council in my hometown of Butler passed a resolution requiring motorists to stop on green and go on red at the traffic lights along the stretch of Route 23 that passes through the town?

There would be chaos at every intersection and carnage strewn along the highway.

Consider other examples. Suppose Exxon's concept of a gallon of gasoline was different from Gulf's. How would you know you were getting your money's worth? Or what if PSE&G generated electricity at variable voltages?

We take so many standards for granted. Our lives depend on them. Red has always meant stop. A gallon is always four quarts, and we do not have to stick voltage meters into the outlets in our homes before turning on an appliance.

While these examples may appear trivial, they nonetheless illustrate our need for rules and laws to govern our conduct. Without them, society could not safely operate and commerce could not proceed in an orderly fashion.

"The rule of law" is a phrase we have heard bandied about over the past several years. The issue was placed in the limelight during the impeachment of President Clinton. It became a household topic in November and December when the rules of law governing elections in Florida were questioned by the Democrats and, as charged by the Republicans, rewritten by that state's Supreme Court.

The rule of law was cited repeatedly by both Democrats and Republicans and used to support their positions, even though the positions were diametrically opposed. How can this be? How can two sides with opposite views embrace the same rule of law and claim it as their political lodestone?

They can't. Not if they are being honest with themselves.

The rule of law in America has largely devolved into something that is neither a rule nor a law. It has become a loophole and, like a cheap wire coat hanger, often twisted to suit the agenda du jour.

"The rule of law has become the rule of lawyers," says former Education Secretary and anti-drug czar William Bennett.

"There is no line between law and politics," says Yale Law School Professor Paul W. Kahn. "The rule of law is a national myth."

How did it get this way in America?

We have abandoned the rule of law -- God's law -- in our national discourse and the harvest we are now reaping is evident in our courts, our schools, our neighborhoods, and even our homes. It is the natural outcome of the seeds of rebellion sown principally over these last 40 years.

America's Judeo-Christian heritage is rich in the rule of law. From the Ten Commandments given on Mount Sinai to the Beatitudes taught by Jesus in the New Testament, God has given us his rules for life on earth. But we have bent them, twisted them, and scoffed at them. We do so at our own peril.

When God told Moses in Exodus 20:13, "You shall not kill," he prohibited murder. We have ignored this clear command from the Scriptures to permit the murder of an unborn fetus.

But we don't stop there. In our arrogance, we justify this disobedience by having it affirmed in the courts by judges in black robes. We think this sanctioning of our actions by mere mortals somehow sanctifies them. But humanity's stamp of approval is merely a cheap veneer covering a deep-seated rebellion. By doing so, we as a nation are shaking our fists in God's face. This prospect should frighten us and inspire repentance.

The Apostle Paul, writing to the church in Corinth, explained that Christians are to be "ministers of the new covenant, not of letter but of spirit; for the letter brings death, but the Spirit gives life" (2 Corinthians 3:6).

And herein lies the crux of the matter.

The letter of the law is often used as a shield to hide behind or as a means to get around a thorny problem. In so doing, the obvious intent or spirit of the law is ignored.

This scenario played out on our television sets through November and into December as the nation witnessed the spectacle of high-priced lawyers parading into courtrooms to pore over the letter of the law in an attempt to obfuscate rather than elucidate the truth. The spirit of the law suffers when it is manhandled in this fashion. This practice has demoralized the country, fanned the flames of cynicism, and called into question our confidence in our judicial system.

What can Christians do to stem this tide of litigation that causes lawyers and judges to "strain at gnats while swallowing camels"?

Christians have a responsibility to live as faithful disciples in every area of life. This includes avoiding litigation against their spiritual brothers and sisters. Paul admonished the Corinthians against taking fellow believers to court. "But rather brother goes to court against brother, and that before unbelievers. Now indeed [then] it is, in any case, a failure on your part that you have lawsuits against one another. Why not rather put up with injustice? Why not rather let yourselves be cheated?" (1 Corinthians 6:6-7).

If we Christians can't stay out of the courts, suing for every personal violation, then how can we possibly be an example to the rest of the world?

Christians also should speak out lovingly yet forcefully against "laws" that are passed merely to license behavior that God clearly condemns in his Word. The prophet Isaiah warned, "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who change darkness into light and light into darkness, who change bitter into sweet, and sweet into bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own sight, and prudent in their own esteem!" (Isaiah 5:20-21).

Clearly we have reached this deplorable state in our politics. We have been there somewhat longer in our national morality. How much longer we the people will stand for this conduct is simply our choice.

If the rule of law is to be restored to its rightful place in America, the starting point must be a hue and cry for its restoration from Christians willing to rise above the fray and live as true disciples -- obedient to the clear commands of the Scriptures.

Gregory Rummo is a business executive who belongs to Madison Avenue Baptist Church in Paterson, where he also serves as choir director. You may e-mail him at GregoryJRummo@aol.com

You can e-mail his editor, Lisa Haddock at Haddock@northjersey.com
You can also send a letter to the editor at LettersToTheEditor@northjersey.com