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Constitutional democracy depends on literacy and cooperation
It is ironic that the United States has elected a President who is, himself, an outlaw, in order to solve a problem of “illegal” aliens. In doing so, his supporters have exhibited misunderstanding of, and even contempt for, the laws of their own country.
Brute force can almost always defeat attempts at persuasive argument using language. That’s why many people kill their opponents, and why most societies produce laws that constrain the killing of other people.
In pre-literate societies, laws were communicated by oral and customary tradition. Since the development of written languages and widespread printing technology, laws have been published in written form and have become increasingly complicated.
“Outlaws” are, by definition, people who disobey laws. Some do so as a means of personal gain and a source of personal pride: “I don’t play by the rules.” Others do so out of desperation, for example by stealing food in order to survive. Still others do so publicly, as in civil disobedience movements protesting racial segregation laws, trying to get lawmakers to change what they perceive as unjust laws.
Understanding written laws requires functional literacy, at least, and even special education in the language of law. Even lawyers disagree…
