Just because something is written down as a law does not mean it is just. This is why laws should always be subject to careful examination and change.
Social attitudes change over time and some laws never fell into social acceptance at any point in their existence. Unjust laws have plagued nearly every country at some point and even now. While the spectrum of what constitutes something as ‘just’ or ‘moral’ is broad and debatable, a simple rule can serve as a guideline to this spectrum. People should be given freedom to anything as long as others are not hurt physically, mentally or financially.
The United States is no stranger to unjust laws. Jim Crow laws from the times of racial segregation are a prime example of an immoral set of laws. Nobody should ever be discriminated against over an arbitrary reason such as race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation and so on. Jim Crow laws set forth a wave of protests and movements, notably the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. This goes to show that people will react and protest when they are met with injustice and that is an incredible thing.
A more modern example of unjust laws comes from a specific drug. The drug in question is marijuana, especially of the medical kind. Some people have crippling diseases or defects and live in constant pain and agony. Prescription medicine has failed these people, leaving them with medical marijuana as their only alternative. Twenty-one states have medical marijuana as illegal, forcing in-state residents to have to travel to another state just to receive the help they need. Does that sound just and moral? Less states have marijuana legalized recreationally. Why is someone simply tweaking their own consciousness in the privacy of their own home illegal?
The government does not always know what is best for people, especially the federal government. An example of that is how the government classifies marijuana on a scale relative to other drugs. According to the DEA, marijuana is classified as a schedule one drug, up there with heroin, ecstasy, LSD and meth. These drugs are scheduled so highly because they have “no accepted medical use” and are “subject to high abuse,” per the DEA. Marijuana being in the same ball park as meth and heroin is utter stupidity and thankfully the societal view of this drug is changing.
The federal government could swoop in and shut down marijuana in states where it is legal, since the drug is still illegal at the federal level. Due to the potential societal backlash that could arise from federal intervention, the government has decided to leave it alone. The people have the power to resist injustices foisted upon them by the government.
If a law is unjust, protest it. Fight tooth and nail to raise awareness and push for change. Governments typically do not always have the people’s best interests in mind and change will come only through the efforts of voters and protestors. Even a government on the scale of the United States falters in that regard. Imagine how much worse laws are in third-world countries.
Sadly, the world isn’t short of unjust laws and general injustice. But the winds of change are always moving, and people should be moving with them.
Public opinion has become almost a near substitute for actual law. Perception can carry a similar penalty to a conviction. (Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons)
