The Law Why We Should or Shouldn't Obey

One of the most important purposes of laws in the world is just to prevent that nothing bad happens to us, for example how a society could survive without traffic driving laws? It is impossible, we need to have rules that shows us the way we have to drive, the signs we need to respect, the light we need to observe, when to stop and when we should pass, and the consequences of breaking the laws.

Have you ever thought of how and what made everyone want to follow the law nowadays? Hammurabi’s code and the Ten Commandments were two early (not the earliest) codes of law that were used in the ancient times as methods of justice, both of the laws shaped society then and now. Hammurabi’s code goes back to ancient Mesopotamian culture that flourished way before the Bible was written or the Greek and the Roman civilizations had even developed. Hammurabi made a collection of 282 laws that established values of manner and justice for keeping order in his kingdom. God engraved the Ten Commandments on stone tablets that were given to Moses and the population of Israel. Even though the code and the commandments

“We have a moral responsibility to disobey any law that conflicts with the law of god.” (Paragraph 16)

Laws are usually inspired and taken from the common knowledge of the society, whether the common knowledge was good or bad it does not make a difference. To illustrate, common laws derive from ethical backgrounds passed through generation to generation, where they feel that these traditions are sacred, and they cannot change it, because they fear the resistance that might develop form that change. Similarly, any religion after certain time gets to change in the name of modernity and prestige. To explain more, Hammurabi

The word law is defined as a system of principles and regulations of ethics and rules in order to keep people and also things in line, a set of rules of conduct. There are many functions of law in business and in society. Without the functions of laws many companies, etc. could and would not survive. Law is very valuable within businesses. Businesses have to have law because it is used as a protective shield for the companies. Without laws, companies could have lawsuits placed on them. So laws are put into place to help avoid as many lawsuits as possible. A majority of

Laws in general are thought up in order to maintain order in our society. Over time, it has

Laws are created among society to maintain order, keeping the communities safe and controlled. In To Kill a Mockingbird, the trial of Tom Robinson is a textbook example of how law creates order among society. When Tom was accused of rape, he was taken to a court of law and prosecuted for the laws that he had broken. Atticus states, “There is one human institution that makes a pauper the equal of a Rockefeller… that institution gentlemen, is a court.” pg 274 When Atticus says that he is expressing that legally all men are equal in the court of law, and men that are proven guilty are demanded to serve the punishment that has been given to them. This shows that law is the ultimate decider over the people, and that the people should respect the law because it upholds the regulations of the nation.

Laws have been around since the beginning of civilization. While today most countries are pretty ‘laxed compared to ancient Babylonian times, some countries, particularly the ones in the Middle East, still have strict laws similar to Hammurabi’s Code. In today’s society Hammurabi’s Code may be viewed as a little excessive; however, for the time they were written, i find these laws to be justifiable. Hammurabi’s Code was fair to the less fortunate. He ensures equality of people with justifiable punishments for crimes people have committed which are best highlighted through his family care, property, and personal injury laws.

Growing up, we have it drilled into our heads that we should always follow the rules, and never break the law. From parents, realatives, teachers, and generally any adult do we hear these messages. I guess I took all of that advice to heart, because I try to always follow the rules, and obey the law. Most of my peers however, do not listen to what their seniors told them as children. As a child, laws seem like the foundation that civilization was supported by. If someone does something that wrongs another person, they are punished. Sounds like a good idea, right?

Breaking the law might or might not be morally permissible in special situations. It is not clear whether it is morally correct to always follow laws. Two points of view were examined: Martin Luther King in the “Letter from Birmingham City Jail” and Socrates in “Crito”. King, (1991) says that breaking the law can be excused for good reasons. However, Socrates says that breaking the law is never permissible (Gallop, 1997). Breaking the law is not moral because it breaks the conditions to be a citizen.

According to St. Augustine “an unjust law is not a law at all”(p186). This belief has been shared by many influential leaders in the past, including Henry Thoreau, Mahatma Ghandi, and Martin Luther King. They all believed in a non-violent approach to solving their social grievances. In most cases their approach was successful and was noticed by society and brought about a change in the laws. This nonviolent perspective stems straight from Jesus, who says, “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”(p192). Others believe that by being disobedient you are under minding the laws and thus creating chaos within society. But, if unjust laws

Imagine if someone you loved was shot. You call the cops, but they say that there is nothing that can be done because there are no laws saying they have to punish the criminal. If there were no laws, criminal could get away with crimes like that repeatedly without any punishment. This is a prime example of why laws are needed to keep society in order. The idea of rules in society has been around since King Hammurabi created the first set of laws in 1760 B.C. Egyptian civilizations created laws so that their society would last longer than other civilizations because people would respect their morals. William Golding, the author of Lord of the Flies, made a statement about human nature, saying that, “Man produces evil as a bee produces honey.” He had a theory that

Laws and rules are important in our society as they serve as a norm of conduct. Rules ensure that social cohesion is kept. Social Cohesion is important as it maintains and preserves our principle moral, social, economic, and political values and establishes patterns of behaviour expected of members of the society. Every society needs rules (whether legal or not) to regulate behaviour, to provide guidelines of acceptable behaviour and to prevent conflict. Without rules, our society would be in chaos. The movie ‘Lord of the Flies’ is a perfect example of this. One of the main characters Ralph knows that sticking to an agreed set of rules is the only thing preventing a state of complete

Law can be defined as the written agreement that a society agrees upon this dictates appropriate and acceptable conduct and behaviour we display toward each other. Law is the foundation of the society it can only work if the society abides by it and work to maintain its existence, this will help solve any problems and crimes.

When people aren't following the law it doesn't mean that they are doing something that could harm someone; it could be something that wouldn't have no harm no foul. When you don’t follow every law it doesn't make you a bad person. I don't believe everyone follows every law because there are too many laws that we don't really know. Breaking a law that has done no harm doesn't make you a bad person.