Elie Wiesel's Comments were Interesting...

I found Elie Wiesel’s comments about differences between ethics and law to be interesting, and his statement, “that laws over time have changed.” It makes me wonder if I found myself in a situation were my liberties and freedoms were at stake, would I want someone to use ethics or law. I question Wiesel’s statement that, “laws apply to all human beings equally, with equal force and equal validity.” This seems to conflict with Martin Luther King's, Jr. writings in “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”. I think Martin Luther King, Jr. was speaking of moral law, justice and ethical values.

 

I agree with the statement that Wiesel made, “ethics is more human.” He also said, “Ethics is something that involves the other person.” I find his other statement that, “the law can exists without the persons”, some what frightening. As Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others? The answer lies in the fact that there are two types of laws: just and unjust. I would be the first to advocate obeying just laws.”  Martin Luther King, Jr. also said, “One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” I liked the way St. Augustine explains it, “that an unjust law is no law at all.” I would not want to find myself in a situation were I was being judged purely by a law without having a moral or ethical foundation to the law. There are many examples in history where the application of law was use to suppress or victimize others. I think that sometimes laws can be just, but it can be the judicial system that unfairly administers or applies the law. So I guess it is important to not only look at laws, but the system of justice that is used to apply these laws, and hopefully ethical and just people will be part of the judicial system.