Should law enforcement be held to a higher standard than civilians?
Unfortunately, the Constitution isn’t going to uphold itself and that is why ultimately it has failed to protect on numerous occasions.
When agents who have been trusted to uphold that document, instead turn and ignore and violate it, the people are going to suffer and they have; left with little or no recourse. And it has been violated by agents of the state at various levels of government.
In his defense of a Constitutional Republic, James Madison long ago wrote that if men were angels then they wouldn’t need any government to rule over them. And along with creating government in the first place and giving the state the power to rule over others, is the challenge in requiring agents of the state to control themselves, to limit their power.
Since men are not angels and not immune to corruption and abuse, how can they be trusted to govern over others? That isn’t to say that the alternative would be no attempt or effort at organization, that’s only to say that trying to centrally plan everything via coercion has and always will be a bad idea. People should be given a choice, rather than having it forced onto them by others. Free people should be allowed to simply opt out. And until that organization can be rooted in voluntary exchanges rather than coerced ones, we should never be surprised by the failures and shortcomings; the widespread abuse that statism affords.
We also cannot rely on agents of the state to decide for us when something is right or wrong, Constitutional or not, because they are not immune to mistake or corruption. Is it any wonder that the United States has slipped into an oligarchy over the years, and that many Constitutional, liberty-loving scholars have even warned that it’s slipping into fascism?
To prevent such results from becoming a reality, wouldn't we assume that law enforcement would be held to a higher standard than the public? If those agents are found to be abusing their authority, while trying to supposedly uphold and enforce it, then their actions obviously present a threat to the public and risk fueling further Constitutional violations. They should be held accountable for their actions.
Over the years, there have been many officers who have demonstrated that they cannot be trusted in that role, and yet quite often we see no real consequences taken when they engage in any wrongdoing. That isn’t to say that some haven’t been dealt with severely however, losing their jobs or being arrested and so on. But regardless of the checks and balances that are supposed to be put into place to prevent widespread injustice and corruption, Constitutional violations are still widespread. Many Americans have had their rights unjustly violated. Even worse, is when there are certain legislation and programs in place that are blatantly unconstitutional and yet we are told to believe otherwise by authorities.
How many innocent people might be spending years behind bars because of the lies and wrongdoing of an agent of the state? According to a recent New York Times investigation, testilying is still alive and well, deeply entrenched into the criminal justice system today. It was found that many officers have lied under oath, though police department heads have assured that it’s only a small fraction of instances they might see every year. However, the goal is to have zero cases.
Now that more officers are adding video cameras to their uniforms, it was assumed that the camera might act as a deterrent and inspire officers to operate in a more honest fashion. But the cameras for now seem to only be exposing more wrongdoing, revealing details of untruths and wrongdoing that we otherwise would never have uncovered.
Why are they telling lies?
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Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/18/nyregion/testilying-police-perjury-new-york.html?mtrref=www.google.ca&gwh=EC1605AEA2AF560B88AE432E4B2EC74E&gwt=pay
https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/03/opinion/sunday/why-police-officers-lie-under-oath.html?mtrref=www.google.ca&gwh=12B1BDDECC3E320CE88B701900E36CB7&gwt=pay&assetType=opinion
https://steemit.com/news/@doitvoluntarily/the-hypocrisy-over-the-obstruction-of-justice
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Held to a higher standard? They seem to be held to no standard at all and have become something akin to highwaymen. But is that any surprise when you have Trump declaring take the guns and worry about due process later?
In answer to your question, no, I don't think any organisation with a monopoly on justice can ever actually provide any.
This is a key sentence @doitvoluntarily. With one small addition — coercion is inevitable consequence of centralized structures. Just as the inevitable consequence of blockchain protocol is decentralization. We have to forget centralized structures and start the protocol.
you're right, it's inherent and inevitable in the central planning, thanks for clarifying ✌
It looks as you read my thoughts...One side has one thing, other other things, so it is paradoxal to fully fullfill Constitution, when those that brake it should make it be fullfiled....What an Irony...😁 I was reading Your text and I was saying this and in the next sentences, You write about that...Veryyy good points...It remains that we Only find solutions to questions, You raised...!
This is really shameful, the worst thing is that it happens in many countries, it is enough to make mention to the public organisms, so that the people decipher their actions. How to do to live in a world where the people that we should give security are the most questioned and distrustful of the people.
excellent publication dear friend @doitvoluntarily of much actuality
I wish you a beautiful night
You see the problem, but not the solution. Here it is. We The People have committee's of safety. What is supposed to happen is We The People take a free civics course at nationallibertyalliance.org and together with the committee's of safety we make them follow the law. Of course if you don't want' to make them they wont. Just to give you a tast : see https://www.nationallibertyalliance.org/files/docs/foundingdocs/Common%20Law%20Handbook.pdf
There are people breaking the law in the highest places in the government. No wonder others in law enforcement at lower levels sometimes go awry and legitimize their actions. To reinstill the confidence in our legal system, these folks in the higher echalons of government are going to have to be punished to the full extent of the law. If the law does not apply equally to all, then who can respect such a system. To your point, those who are being paid to do a job of enforcing our laws should be held to an even higher standard. As a citizen and a God fearing man, I am also required and admonished by the scriptures to pray for those in authority. If I don’t do this, I don’t have much room to complain.
i think you create a great post...and your writeing skill is so good...i waiting for your next post
You must keep the organization who wan going to legislative building for make constitution be in the civil lifem
Rulers make rules... It is absurd. Great post
Happy evening @doitvoluntarily, this is very shameful the truth is that this happens in many countries and especially here in VENEZUELA that the laws are not observed, they do their will, excellent publication greetings @glorimarbolivar
an article that attracts friends. although I do not understand your language but I always go to enliven friend post. spirit. compact greeting always @doitvoluntarily
I have never been there. We just hope that justice can be upheld. Thank you for sharing a very interesting article for everyone to know. May always be successful for you @doitvoluntarily.
We need a better form of checks and balances with the state and with law enforcement. Sadly there are those who ravish power too much and forget that they are Servants of the people. This may sound trite however I miss the days of Innocence we wants to had in our country. Thanks for the great article.
The more power anyone has, the higher standard they should be kept to.
What a perfect term! I've dealt with good cops and bad cops. I've dealt with honest lawyers (none of them so far have been in family law -- although I still hold a shred of hope to find one one day) and far more worse lawyers.
Those that know the system, know the loopholes. Those that know the loopholes find getting a taste of getting away with operating in those loopholes eventually keep doing, even if if they know it's wrong. Eventually -- they feel justified in doing it.
Testilying is probably the MOST RAMPANT violation in every single one of this systems across the board. People get a way with it on a rampant scale.
What if there was a way to verify what someone was attesting to before entering into the system -- on a report or pleading? Wouldn't that be somethin'?
@mhm-phillipines said:
Although this is true, I know that it will never fully happen. Not in this lifetime anyway. I do know that one day those with authority will be held accountable before God for how they used it, however.
In the mean time, I believe the best course of action is to keep talking about it as much as possible; to keep raising awareness. We need to make it safe for other people to EXPOSE what has happened to them.
The more people come out, the more stories that are made known, the more awake people become.
The more awake people become, the more they will realize that we do have the power to change this, both lawfully AND legally, in a very healthy, non-violent way. It will take courage. Collective courage to stand up to the abuses. (For those of you who may not know there's a legal difference between the terms "lawfully" and "legally", I'm sure that @commonlaw can start pointing you in the right direction to begin learning.)