“To no one will we sell, to no one will we deny or delay justice.”
It has been said that America is a nation of “laws and not of men.” This quote is replete with meaning; let us consider it. Dictators and tyrants are often depicted in popular media as legislating every aspect of life and governing with an iron fist. This is a critical error. Tyrants do not govern by a clear but strict set of rules; they govern by their whims, placing themselves above it. Hitler, Mao, and Stalin did not need to throw everyone in a concentration camp or a gulag to destroy their liberty. They substituted their personal will for the law and liberty was dead. America, by contrast, was designed to be a nation with clear rules that apply equally to all. Rule of law demands due process and a system of law to ensure that individuals’ rights are protected. There is much to be said about how best to achieve justice. America has not always lived up to the lofty standards set in its core. In pursuing these standards, reasonable minds may differ, but the core principles are unassailable.