Most of us aspire to be law abiding citizens. Without giving it much thought, we assume the laws we abide by will be fair and equitable. And then we run headlong into Donald Trump.
All of a sudden we start to ask: Who makes the laws? Who influences who makes the laws? Who are the lobbyists? How many are former Congressmen? What is the influence of money? How much of fair and equitable is on the minds of lawmakers?
We see a cascade of laws on race, ethnicity, privilege, class, access to justice that have to be considered in light of these questions. And we must acknowledge that being a law abiding citizen may have little to do with acting morally or ethically.
We can be a nation of laws without being a nation of values.
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