Another reason I will never be on a jury

As I was driving home this evening from an outing...that is, from going out somewhere, not from "outing" someone from the closet or showing an "outie" rather than an "innie" or, as Kingfish might say, "The outing and the in-ing have been going on since January, with more outing than in-ing so the outing ain't in." (Kingfish's Phony Boat Trip, Amos & Andy program circa the early to mid 40s)
Well, as it were I found myself in a 50MPH zone. I, of course, being the law-abiding citizen I am was carefully watching my speed. After all, the stuff is expensive these days, although meth is more popular... *rimshot*. Okay, cheesy joke(s) out of the way, some people may or may not have been exceeding the posted speed limit by 5 or 8 MPH. Amongst them was ye old Sheriff. With my expert eye I judged his speed to be about 60.
As I watched, he jetted over about 20 feet in front of a van he deemed to be going to slow. This van appeared to be going approximately 55MPH in a 50.
Now, technically the van was breaking the law. Then again, so was the Sheriff...and technically, he was breaking it by about double what the van was and was additionally, in my humble yet accurate opinion, driving a little dangerously. Frankly, from my point of view, the way he cut the van off could be viewed as reckless driving.
So as we proceeded along I found myself in the same lane as the Sheriff and actually, after a couple miles, I was right behind him. Lo and behold a car behind me decided we all were going too slow (we were now in a 55MPH, by the way...and a construction zone) so he exceeded 65 MPH...I would estimate... :-) and zoomed into the far right lane. Naturally, the Sherriff then zoomed over two lanes and soon his lights came on.
Now, the dude who zipped past A) changed 2 lanes much too quickly, B) WAS, INDEED, exceeding the posted speed limit, and C) undeniably deserves the monstrous ticket he probably got (remember, this is in a construction zone...a construction zone where just yesterday some drunk nimrod killed himself when he impaled himself on a backhoe).
However, in his lane change, I must admit...there were no cars within several feet of him, either in front or back. Also, there were no cars impeding his progress after he changed those lanes.
My point? Of the two lawbreaking parties, the one who caused more danger was the Sherriff...but the one who got penalized is the poor sap without the lights on top of his car.
And people wonder why respect for the law is sliding. Because we see the people sworn to uphold the law breaking it, perjuring themselves, accepting bribes, justifying evil, and so forth. We learn by example.
I really have very little sympathy for the dude that got the ticket. I was in the flow of traffic and he felt compelled to ride my bumper for a ways before he backed off. He did, after all, break the law. I just think there should have been two tickets written.
Nathan Hale said, "Give me liberty or give me death." Benjamin Franklin said, "They that can give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." These were men of vision, men with ideals who had great respect for the law. Not for those responsible for forming the law, not those responsible for upholding it, but rather for the law itself. They believed in principles and acted on them.
The tea tax that caused the Boston Tea Party would have lowered tea prices overall. The tea dumping was about principles...the right to live as free men without fear the government would, without cause or justification, infringe on their rights. Despite the way some people are now revising the interpretation of history, many of the Revolutionaries were indeed risking much, from their wealth to their very lives, to strive for the freedom principle they believed in so much.
Go back and study what happened to the signers of the Declaration of Independance. Most paid with their property and many with their very lives for an abstract idea...freedom.
It is too bad we have descended from men of integrity and valor such as they to the pathetic excuses we have running the country now.
I mean the felons, cheats, and liars who comprise parts of our legislative bodies. I mean the lawbreakers who wear uniforms with patches saying things like "To protect an serve".
At the risk of sounding too cynical, every time I hear of a cop being killed in the line of duty I am tempted to write a letter to their widow saying, "The world is a better place now that he is gone. It is good the streets are a little less corrupt today."
On the other hand, my next post my be quite funny.