If you asked me to tell you what's wrong with America, then I'd say the biggest thing is that we are more a Society of Laws and a Nation of Men, than a Society of Men and a Nation of Laws. There is a point, which may or may not be fast approaching when all of our legendary institutional checks and balances fails to counteract that fundamental and growing flaw.
What do I mean by society of laws?
A society of laws is what a classroom becomes when the nerd teacher loses control and respect from the students. Everything becomes run according to laws which are used over and over again. This turns people into finks and breeds distrust as well as the kind of person who does well in such environments. It doesn't matter how fair or unfair the laws are. What matters is that they overrule human emotions to a socially dysfunctional degree. Things become overly complex. Common sense fails to work. Arguments that could generally be solved are not. Bureacracy rules. The human spirit is crushed.
What do I mean by a nation of men?
A nation of men is what a sport becomes when the ref stops calling fouls and the coaches stop calling plays. The superstar players start cheating and hiding their cheats so that they appear to be playing by the rules, but actually aren't. Their ability in the game soon has nothing to do with the rules of the game and nobody can catch up to them. As the corruption becomes known, it throws the entire practice into distrust. The game becomes unlovable, the heroes questioned.
We should be a nation of laws, where no matter how powerful and talented you are, people's love and admiration for you cannot overcome the rules. We should be a society of men, where respect and common sense are the things that keep people in line.
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