【0906G 文以载道三月四月小组】2.5作业 by lilianli

lilianliUID: 2437378

17. "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."

As a member of society, people have to live under certain laws which are the standards of the society. Some think the just laws should be complied to while the unjust laws should be disobeyed as well as resisted. However, in my point of view, the attitudes and behaviors to laws should be considered case by case.

To begin with, whether a law is just or unjust is rarely a straightforward issue. The fairness of any law depends on one’s personal value system. It is the function that restricting human beings to certain standards in order to keep the normal system of the society that laws hold. In this sense, simply judging the just and unjust of the laws is not reasonable. Consider the use of nuclear weapons. Once, nuclear technologies were motivated by many powerful countries and large amount of funds were invested to the research. And nuclear weapons were considered as the peace keeper of the world. However, people recognized the menace of the nuclear technology and many laws were set up to constrict the development and use of the nuclear weapons. Whether these laws are just, to some extent, is a difficulty question to be answered. Also, consider the laws about the age that allows the youth to drink alcohol. The detail of the law is different in each country even in each state according to the values people hold. In fact, this is the standard to certain people and not relevant to justice.

Furthermore, the laws do not keep constant, as many people think, on the contrary, they are challenged and mended in the progress of social development. In the first place, the item ”just” is going to vary greatly according to the different traditions and the change of the time. The law of abortion is a case in point. Abortion is a legal individual behavior decades earlier and nowadays it is prohibited in many countries with the advancement in human right. This holds true when it comes to unjust laws. After the civil war, the segregation laws still existed in the history of America over seventy years. However, with the development of the society, these unjust laws supplanted by the laws protecting the right of everyone in America. In short, laws change with the progress of the society and the values of people.

Thus, unduly emphasizing people to comply with the so-called existing just laws and resist unjust laws spell certain risks. For one thing, compelling all the people unconditioned accept and obey the just laws may in some sense impede the process of the democracy in the nation. The defects in the laws may be ignored and cannot reach a progressive level. In addition, resisting unjust laws may bring out the conflict between parties and organizations. For instance, the illegalization of the embryonic stem cell research in America cites a fierce conflict between democratic party and republican party.

In summary, as one of the crucial elements of modern society, the laws have to be served as the guidance of almost all the citizens to live and work in a right way and also provide them with the stabilized ambiance. And before obeying or disobeying the laws people should think twice and consider case by case.