Justice & Judgement

Friday 1st January, 2021

It seems that quite a few of the fireworks to welcome in the New Year went off with a whimper rather than a bang! Here in Fife it has been the perfect day. Clear blue sky and no cloud although the low sun makes driving and walking hard as it blinds one so easily.

Strangely I spent much time yesterday wondering about the moral position of State law. When does the law become such that to obey it is to be condoning injustice? One thinks of dictatorships such as Nazi Germany, of China and some of its legal practices and other countries such a North Korea. What of our own country? There have been voices raised against some of the regulations brought in over the Covid pandemic. Human rights and civil liberties have been abused and denigrated so these voices say. When must I, out of conscience or belief, oppose the law? As a citizen of a Country I agree to abide by its laws and if I do not the State has the legal right to lock me up, to punish me. I recall a friend being given a driving offence for speeding when he was trying to take his Father who had just had a heart attack to an A and E department. He was doing 65mph in a 40mph area and was caught by a camera. What of those who truly object to Capital Punishment living in a State that exercises it?

My own concerns at present are with the local regulations over the lockdowns and tier systems. Ignorance I am informed is not an acceptable plea for not guilty. An email I received from a friend claimed that everyone was interpreting the rules to suit themselves and their wishes. So I go to see a friend in her/his home, keep my mask on, use gel, stay a safe distance and have a window open yet is this allowed? The blanket rules seem to be inequitable and defeat the purpose of the law which is then ridiculed and ignored and loses its authority. I cannot recall who said 'the law is an ass', but certainly it can be. It can also be immoral and unjust.

There are many concerns re law and its workings. Is there one law for the rich because they have the means to know and argue and subvert it? Does the law favour the status quo, the interests of the Establishment who make the laws? How independent is the Judiciary?

These are all legitimate queries. Yet no system is perfect and ever needs adjusting. We know the innocent are sometimes found guilty. We have to live with the law, protest legally and change it by proper channels and means. Sadly the law appears to be a behemoth and we the gnat attempting to penetrate it.

Any way, those have been my thoughts. My lovely walk with my litter grabber did not give me answers but the exercise ( how much am I allowed to do? ) and the clear crisp air cleared the brain. I can now fill that brain with thoughts of supper! Yet even those thoughts somehow turn to the matters of what is healthy, what is appropriate ( should I buy local produce, avoid foods which have flown miles and caused pollution ? ) and how to control my greed and how to share the world's resources justly.

The new year does not bring solutions necessarily.

The five bags of litter picked up today could or should have been stopped by the fact that the law makes it an offence to litter! Just think at £20 a piece of detritus the Country could have been richer by at least £1,000 today!