“Ours is a country of laws, and not men”

In the ongoing controvery of President Bush authorising illegal surveillance of its citizens, here is a marvelous post making the real issue much clearer.

Ours is a government of laws, not of men. That means if the President disagrees with a law or feels that it is insufficient, he still must obey it. Ignoring the law is illegal, even for the President. The President may ask Congress to change the law, but meanwhile he must follow it.

Our President has chosen to declare himself above the law, a dangerous precedent that could do great harm to our country. However, without substantial effort on the part of you, and I mean you, every person reading this, nothing much is going to happen. The rule of law will continue to decay in our country. Future Presidents will claim even greater extralegal authority, and our nation will fall into despotism. I mean that sincerely. For the sake of yourself, your children and your children’s children, you cannot allow this to stand.

For Indians, so ignorant of the need for privacy as a basic human right, there is an important lesson in this story.

(Via BoingBoing )