No one is above the law, except "the Law"

An ancient truth about "the law"

This week, SCOTUS issued a ruling that essentially said high level New York officials, including the governor and prosecutors, had blackmailed Lloyds of London demanding that they drop service to the National Riffle Association.  Lloyds dropped them.  This was likely one of countless similar actions against the NRA and other disfavored parties by New York state.  The case got to SCOTUS without going through a trial court (highly unusual) because New York refused to let the case be brought!  In a 9-0 ruling, the court found this blackmail and the subsequent refusal to try the case to be a constitutional violation.

 Of course, a more publicized trial this week rung with the phrase "No one is above the law."  Except, it may be noted, "the law" itself. “The Law” is the judge and prosecutors, once again from New York, who tried a man for election interference when the only clear case of criminal action in that court was the election interference by the prosecutor and judge. 

Around the year 550 BC, a coalition of commissioners and bureaucrats (called Satraps) conspired against a man who threatened their power.  Despite their best efforts to accuse him, Daniel could not be credibly accused of any real crime.  So, they made one up and tried him for insurrection. Daniel was promptly convicted and thrown to the lions.  Within a few short years, the Medes were deposed and the Babylonians were conquered by the Persians.  Daniel got a book of the bible named after him.

In about 33 AD, a coalition of Jewish bureaucrats called the Sanhedrin accused Jesus of insurrection.  When the Roman authority found no fault in him, "the law" demanded he be put to death as an insurrectionist.  He was, and just under 40 years later, the nation of Israel was wiped off the map, with its greatest city torn down to rubble.  “The Law’s” instrument of justice onto which the charge of insurrection was nailed, has become the most universal and enduring symbol of greatness and goodness in all of history.

In about 520 AD, a Roman Christian senator named Boethius denounced the corruption of the deep state among the Ostrogothic administration in Rome.  The bureaucrats and lawyers of the Roman court accused Boethius, essentially of insurrection, and some financial crimes that were not crimes at all.  But, the conspirators got the ear of the judge and ruler, Theodoric. He allowed the bureaucrats to have their way.  The deep state put Boethius to death in 523.  Boethius became a saint and martyr, while "the law" kept control of Rome, which would continue in decline and soon become a more failed state than it already was.

In about 1521 AD,  Martin Luther was accused essentially of insurrection against the church in Rome-- at the time, a co-ruler with the state.  He was tried in a kangaroo court, accused of false crimes, and convicted by "the law".  He narrowly escaped with his life and by 1570, the atrocities of the Spanish Inquisition were in full swing.  The great Church was split causing damage that remains one of the greatest blights on the church today-- our division.  Luther got a branch of the church named after him and is the grandfather of all protestant churches.

We all know these stories, yet in moments like this, there seems so little clarity.  Official lies seed confusion and we wonder if there may be some truth to the charges.  We're told no man is above the law, but just what is "the law"?   "The Law" is just people.  They are simply those who have the power to wield a pen in the moment. When "the Law" has no virtue, it becomes a vicious tool of the bureaucrats. As we've seen, the consequences of allowing "the law" to be manipulated is so often the last gasp of a failed state. 

As we see this path through history, it seems that at 500 year intervals we enter a time when we forget that evil can take the form of the empowered deep state and twist the minds of the masses.  The result is bad for everyone, even the bureaucrats who bring it about.  As for Orange Man, it seems his enemies might just put him in some good company if they're not more careful.  Before I get complaints about the company in which I'm putting Trump-- I'll preempt the critique. I’m just telling an historical story.  If the Democrats were students of history, or had any forethought, they might consider their actions.  Blind self-righteous rage is not fertile soil for forethought.