OCR Text |
Show eople. Politics & Policy No one can be a law unto themselves By E. MARK BEZZANT The 13-day confrontation between 6iw enforcement officers and the wapp-Singer family is over. One tficer is dead and Adamm Swapp ; hospitalized with a gunshot ound. There has been in this tragic nts?isode some important lessons that lould not go unnoticed. "Fundamental disrespect for law ' a'annot go unchecked. In Swapp's nal communication to the ndpvernor, he summed up what was the crux of much that has taken ace. He refused to respect the , ily established laws of the city, a,ate and nation. He went far :yond John Singer's position and )US;gan to seek to establish his own justice system. Not unlike too many ' the state, he entered into the Alawful practice of polygamy. )"1hat breech of the law went un- lecked by enforcement officials as does everyday up and down this ate. Swapp refused to pay assessed . xes, wanting to pick and choose e ones he would pay. He wanted to re in a society and be benefitted "'j'-ereby, but not contribute toward '"'iat society except as he saw fit. Adamm claimed to be led by a eri,f)d who taught of peace on earth "Wid obedience to law, yet Addam Slewed everywhere the doctrine of oca- hate, revenge, destruction and death. Unlike the Mormon Church he hated, Addam sought to destroy rather than build. He chose to pick and choose the doctrines that would guide his life and the lives of others. What holds this and every other society like it together, is the fundamental fun-damental respect for the way the society operates. The pillars of this society rest on the notion that in a representative government, laws are duly established, obeyed and enforced. As a society we have a fundamental aversion to a government gover-nment that acts more like "big brother" than a servant of the public will. We are a freedom loving people. One could say there is, in all of us, a bit of John Singer and Addam Swapp. Too often we choose to pick and choose which laws we will obey. Considering the morbid ending at the Singer farm, there just might need be reason for everyone to reexamine re-examine where they stand as it relates to obedience to the laws of the land. Some refuse to hook onto the sewer. Some refuse to pay the garbage fees. Some refuse to park cars off streets. Some refuse to clear snow from sidewalks. Some refuse to clean up unsightly grounds. Some refuse to obey building codes. Some refuse to obey downtown traffic rules. Some refuse to obey traffic laws. Some refuse lo pay taxes. Most go about their lives trying to obey, even if it is reluctantly. John Singer died for refusing to obey the law. A fine law officer is dead because Singer's disciple refused to obey the law. It is in this light and in the light of so much other violence that we can begin to appreciate why Congress chose to pay tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. With all his faults, King preached the gospel of non-violence in the face of the most vile injustices to black America and other minorities. They simply wanted the right to go to school. They wanted to vote. They wanted to ride the bus. They wanted an equal partnership with the rest of America. The difference dif-ference they sought was in the halls of government where the laws are made. It is in the halls of government where we too should seek change, if change is what we seek. February is a month to be reminded by the image of Lincoln that no one can be a law unto themselves. No one, not the Mormon Church, not the south, not even the police. The bloodstained blood-stained soil of this nation is a grim reminder of that. The blood-stained soil of Marion, Utah is another such reminder. |