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TOPIC: ISSUE17 - "There are two types of laws: just and unjust. Every individual in a society has a responsibility to obey just laws and, even more importantly, to disobey and resist unjust laws."
What the speaker asserts consists of three aspects :( 1)laws are divided into two types-just and unjust; (2)Every individual in a society has a responsibility to abide by just laws; and (3) it is even more important for individuals to disobey and resist unjust laws. While I agree with the speaker that every individual in a society has a responsibility to obey just laws, I strongly disagree with the other two aspects for the following reasons.
To begin with, it is not reasonable to categorize any law as either just or unjust. Every individual in a society has his or her own interest; therefore, it is kind of difficult to make a judgment whether a certain law is just or unjust. After all, since the fairness of any law depends on individual’s personal value system and interest, what kind of criteria can we base on to judge the fairness of an existing law? This is especially true, when it comes to certain controversial issues, such as abortion, euthanasia, and homosexuality. Take euthanasia for example, individuals with particular value system and religious beliefs might tend to consider laws allowing euthanasia as unjust, for they believe that human beings have no right to deprive any life. To the contrary, certain persons who regard that forbidding euthanasia means a deprivation of personal liberty and freedom might take such laws allowing euthanasia as just. Consequently, it is improper and fallacious to divide laws into two types-just and unjust.
In the next place, it is unreasonable for us to disobey and resist laws anyone considers unjust from his or her own interest and value system. Undoubtedly, justifying a violation and resistance of laws thought to be unjust from individual’s interest or value system equals to sanctioning all types of illegal behavior, including egregious criminal conduct , which would be bound to cause chaos of public rules. For instance, an employer who strongly opposed to the law forbidding employment of child labor might maintain that the illegal behavior of resistance of the law such as rejecting paying tax amounts to justifiable disobedience. If so, the government will undisputedly lack adequate revenue for the various programs in its budget. Accordingly, the government departments cannot operate normally. Hence, if certain contemporary laws are not applicable to particular circumstances we are confronted with, we should neither disobey nor resist but turn to the legislature to seek amendment and improvement.
Thirdly, I strongly agree with the speaker that every individual in a society has a responsibility to obey just laws, for the obvious reason that the fundamental function of laws in a democratic society is to guarantee stability of a nation and well-being of every individual in a society. If laws are not carried out legally by individuals, the respectability and significance of laws will be nothing but an empty shell. Moreover, just as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the eighteenth century French political philosopher, once publicized, “In a democratic society the state represents the general will of the citizens, and that in obeying its laws each citizen is pursuing his own real interests.” This illustrates that all the members should follow the existing laws to ensure the order and effectiveness of the society in operation.
In conclusion, the speaker’s statement is too extreme in two respects. Firstly, it wrongly categorizes any law as either just or unjust. Secondly, it is reasonless to claim that it is important for us to disobey and resist unjust laws. Because the essential function of laws is to make balance among various and competing interests, any reasonable person with different priorities will never take radical action such as disobedience or resistance to the so-called unjust laws merely judged by one’s subjective viewpoint or individual interests. | 
发表于 2009-6-30 22:27:40
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