“What is the Grounding for the Law’s Jurisdiction Over Us?”
Imagine a house fire starting and your neighbor having to watch all of his memories, possessions, and his house burn down because there are no laws existing to provide services and responders. There would be no taxes collected to fund fire departments, police departments or hospitals. There would be no help. This anarchy would exist because the citizens would not accept the law’s jurisdiction over them. To have peace and prosperity we must have some law. We allow the Law to have jurisdiction over us based on certain grounds such as protection, preserving our rights and avoiding anarchy. However, some citizens believe that the Law is too restrictive and intruding in their lifes. People argue that the laws could be too invasive. For example, during the British rule they forced …show more content…
Machiavelli stated, “The government should be both feared and loved but it’s safer to be feared than loved” (Machiavelli 679). Now in modern day, fear is still there but in the form of laws. The fear of punishment for defying laws is what keeps citizens in line and from committing crimes. The fear of breaking these laws is what keeps our society from descending into anarchy, in fact, “. . . but fear is maintained by a dread of punishment which never fails” (Machiavelli 680). Although when citizens do stray from the Law’s guidelines and commit crimes, they have to suffer the consequences of their actions. In Machiavelli’s time this would be used in terms of killing the criminal: “And when he [the prince] is obliged to take the life of anyone, let him do so. . .” (Machiavelli 680). In today’s society the consequences of such crimes are not as harsh and the government has reduced the use of capital punishment, “The law should establish only those penalties which are absolutely and evidently necessary” (The Declaration
Imagine a house fire starting and your neighbor having to watch all of his memories, possessions, and his house burn down because there are no laws existing to provide services and responders. There would be no taxes collected to fund fire departments, police departments or hospitals. There would be no help. This anarchy would exist because the citizens would not accept the law’s jurisdiction over them. To have peace and prosperity we must have some law. We allow the Law to have jurisdiction over us based on certain grounds such as protection, preserving our rights and avoiding anarchy. However, some citizens believe that the Law is too restrictive and intruding in their lifes. People argue that the laws could be too invasive. For example, during the British rule they forced …show more content…
Machiavelli stated, “The government should be both feared and loved but it’s safer to be feared than loved” (Machiavelli 679). Now in modern day, fear is still there but in the form of laws. The fear of punishment for defying laws is what keeps citizens in line and from committing crimes. The fear of breaking these laws is what keeps our society from descending into anarchy, in fact, “. . . but fear is maintained by a dread of punishment which never fails” (Machiavelli 680). Although when citizens do stray from the Law’s guidelines and commit crimes, they have to suffer the consequences of their actions. In Machiavelli’s time this would be used in terms of killing the criminal: “And when he [the prince] is obliged to take the life of anyone, let him do so. . .” (Machiavelli 680). In today’s society the consequences of such crimes are not as harsh and the government has reduced the use of capital punishment, “The law should establish only those penalties which are absolutely and evidently necessary” (The Declaration