Lawyering Up, Week 3: Wed, Period 2 (1/23)
"'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.'" Nathan said as he handed out that week's information packets. If he gave a studied, inscruitible look in Wyatt's direction as he did... well that was probably a coincidence. "Thomas Jefferson, in the Declaration of Independence. Not a law, but certainly a statement that acted as strong guidelines for the laws that followed.
"We're discussing Civil Rights." Nathan leaned against the front of his desk. "In plain language, laws that say what you are allowed to have and do as a citizen. For though the truths may be self-evident, they're not supported unless the written law says so. Of course, there's always a catch."
Nathan looked around at each student in turn. "All men are created equal. Men. Not women. Also not anyone of color or anyone who didn't own land. This isn't a traffic dispute. This isn't how you pay for your favorite music. This is about people in power deciding who else gets to have power. People in power deciding who is powerless."
Why yes, Nathan had been affected by a weekend spent finding out that people had been turned into second-class citizens in his name. Thanks for asking.
"This nation's history is littered with laws that have been used to take rights away. Now we do learn. We have removed some of them. But we have not removed all, nor have we created enough laws which offer protection. And that's just for the categories we know about - race, religion, gender, sexuality. What about the ones you now know about because of this school? Those from different planets, those who are a different species, those who have a special ability and those who do not? What about the law then?
"In honor of this Monday, and because I never rewrite anything that was perfect to begin with, I'm going to give this over to Martin Luther King. In his Letter from a Birmingham Jail he says:
One may well ask: 'How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?' The answer lies in the fact that there are two types of laws: just and unjust. I would be the first to advocate obeying just laws. One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that 'an unjust law is no law at all.'
"Let's talk about this," Nathan said. "What are the civil rights laws you have dealt with that you feel were unjust? What, if anything, did you do about them? What, if anything, do you think should be done? And for any of you who might be doubting your ability to make a difference, I point you back to Dr. King, who says that one day the list of heroes:
...will be the young high school and college students, the young ministers of the gospel and a host of their elders, courageously and nonviolently sitting in at lunch counters and willingly going to jail for conscience' sake. One day the South will know that when these disinherited children of God sat down at lunch counters, they were in reality standing up for what is best in the American dream and for the most sacred values in our Judaeo-Christian heritage, thereby bringing our nation back to those great wells of democracy which were dug deep by the founding fathers in their formulation of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.
"So let's get talking," Nathan said. "And if anyone would like extra credit beyond the usual lawyer jokes, try taking the Civil Rights Mythbuster quiz. I have the answers up here when you're done. Also Wyatt? Stay after if you have a chance."
[ooc: Wait for OCD OCD is up! I'm off to bed, will be around tomorrow.]
"We're discussing Civil Rights." Nathan leaned against the front of his desk. "In plain language, laws that say what you are allowed to have and do as a citizen. For though the truths may be self-evident, they're not supported unless the written law says so. Of course, there's always a catch."
Nathan looked around at each student in turn. "All men are created equal. Men. Not women. Also not anyone of color or anyone who didn't own land. This isn't a traffic dispute. This isn't how you pay for your favorite music. This is about people in power deciding who else gets to have power. People in power deciding who is powerless."
Why yes, Nathan had been affected by a weekend spent finding out that people had been turned into second-class citizens in his name. Thanks for asking.
"This nation's history is littered with laws that have been used to take rights away. Now we do learn. We have removed some of them. But we have not removed all, nor have we created enough laws which offer protection. And that's just for the categories we know about - race, religion, gender, sexuality. What about the ones you now know about because of this school? Those from different planets, those who are a different species, those who have a special ability and those who do not? What about the law then?
"In honor of this Monday, and because I never rewrite anything that was perfect to begin with, I'm going to give this over to Martin Luther King. In his Letter from a Birmingham Jail he says:
One may well ask: 'How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?' The answer lies in the fact that there are two types of laws: just and unjust. I would be the first to advocate obeying just laws. One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that 'an unjust law is no law at all.'
"Let's talk about this," Nathan said. "What are the civil rights laws you have dealt with that you feel were unjust? What, if anything, did you do about them? What, if anything, do you think should be done? And for any of you who might be doubting your ability to make a difference, I point you back to Dr. King, who says that one day the list of heroes:
...will be the young high school and college students, the young ministers of the gospel and a host of their elders, courageously and nonviolently sitting in at lunch counters and willingly going to jail for conscience' sake. One day the South will know that when these disinherited children of God sat down at lunch counters, they were in reality standing up for what is best in the American dream and for the most sacred values in our Judaeo-Christian heritage, thereby bringing our nation back to those great wells of democracy which were dug deep by the founding fathers in their formulation of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.
"So let's get talking," Nathan said. "And if anyone would like extra credit beyond the usual lawyer jokes, try taking the Civil Rights Mythbuster quiz. I have the answers up here when you're done. Also Wyatt? Stay after if you have a chance."
[ooc: Wait for OCD OCD is up! I'm off to bed, will be around tomorrow.]