Equality before the law
Equality before the law is not only a sentence or two on parchment held in archives. It is one of the most powerful living principles we can stand upon to make positive change.
One of the core principles underlying all true democracies is that of equality before the law. This principle is included in the founding documents of the United States; it has been, ever since, imperfectly implemented and greatly tested.
When a white man is pulled over for a traffic violation, given a ticket (or a warning), and sent on his way; and a Black man, in the same situation, is far more vulnerable to violent arrest or assault by law enforcement - each time this occurs, equality before the law is tested.
When a rich man hires a team of lawyers to delay and obstruct proceedings, intimidates potential witnesses, and plays to the court of public opinion; while a poor person winds up incarcerated pending bail, or at the mercy of disadvantageous plea bargains - equality before the law is tested.
When a seller of addictive drugs on a street corner is subject to harsh prosecution, while a corporation makes billions for its executives and stockholders selling addictive drugs under false pretenses, and negotiates its way to a settlement - equality before the law is tested.
When law enforcement can lie to get a no-knock warrant and a Black woman winds up dead, while duly earned and executed search warrants against the rich and powerful are dismissed as political maneuvering or baseless persecution - equality before the law is tested.
When people who can become pregnant have less of a right to bodily autonomy than the rich and powerful lawmakers who want to decide their fate - equality before the law is tested.
From the time of the writing of those founding documents, equality before the law has served as an aspiration. Who counted as fully enfranchised persons was debated. Violence was used, and sanctioned, in efforts to restrict equality before the law: enslaved people, indigenous people, women, children, immigrants, LGBTQIA+ folk and poor people - all were (and too often still are) excluded by institutional structure or practice or both.
Today, we witness these inequities and call them by name: structural racism, misogyny, trans- and homophobia, among others. By naming them, we create opportunities to change them.
Equality before the law is not only a sentence or two on parchment held in archives. It is one of the most powerful living principles we can stand upon to make positive change. We know its power by how hard the privileged few who have been exempted from accountability fight against being treated equally before the law. When privileged people claim exemption because they were serving the absolute power of the executive, watch out. They are really claiming that equality before the law is a sham.
And inequality before the law is the foundation for dictatorship.
Together, we push on in our fight for equality, equity, and inclusion of all. Thank you for your company.