Opus 2026-136: Don’t Make My Day

For some reason the phrase “Make my day” came to mind this morning.  I think it is from a Dirty Harry movie.  I don’t think I ever saw any of the movies but I have been exposed to the clips and segments that are common.  If my mental construction is correct the movies feature a cop who is committed to justice and is not worried about going outside the boundaries to achieve it.  My impression is that the audiences cheer him on as he breaks the rules to bring the bad guys to their deserved end.

Add to that the adventure novels that feature similar characters.  The first one I was aware of was James Bond, 007, which meant he had a license to kill.  We watched him exercise that permission and were entertained.  The same pattern was used in repeated series and stand alone novels about secret government agencies that reported only to the president and went around the world like undercover Lone Rangers.  The rules did not apply to them because they were in the service of righteousness.

It was exciting and for the most part we all went along for the ride.  In the process we were being conditioned to accept the idea of vigilante justice.  We were being taught that the rule of law was something that could be set aside in the quest for punishment of evil.  It was all very good when the president in charge of the secret agency was on the side of the angels but the question becomes, “Who appoints the angels?”

What we are seeing lived out on our streets is the shoe on the other foot.  The forces of darkness have adopted the idea that the end justifies the means and their end justifies anything that they want today.

The rule of law is being set aside. What is the rule of law?  Hayek gives a good definition:

“Nothing distinguishes more clearly conditions in a free country from those in a country under arbitrary government than the observance in the former of the great principles known as the rule of law.  Stripped of all technicalities, this means that government in all its actions is bound by rules fixed and announced beforehand - rules which make it possible to foresee with fair certainty how the authority will use its coercive powers in given circumstance and to plan one’s individual affairs on the basis of this knowledge.” p. 80

The rule of law is difficult to apply when you are facing an adversary who understands your limitations based on that rule.  We are faced with a Marxists incursion in our country that knows how to push our buttons and maniuplate our good intentions.  It remains to be seen if we will find a way to survive.  There are two things that allow this attack to be successful.  

The first is in infiltration of our judicial system by bench sitters who are part of the enemy.  Judges who legislate from the bench in obvious opposition to the Constitution are part of the enemy.  We don’t like to think that people who are appointed to be impartial can side with evil but it is a common experience.

What makes that a real problem is politicians who refuse to apply the oath they took to protect and defend the Constitution against enemies both foreign and domestic.  At the present time the Republicans have “control” of both houses.  If they would honor their commitment we could see judges impeached and fraud punished.  If we had a few Democrats that remembered they are Americans we could see the same thing happen.

We have had rough times before.  The one that stands out to me is the decade preceeding the Civil War.  We survived but the price was high.  Let us hope that we can avoid that violence but be willing to pay it if necessary.

Hayek, F.A.  The Road to Serfdom, Fiftieth Anniversary Edition.  Chicago:  University of Chicago Press, 1944, 1994.

homo unius libri