Higher Law

Highly evolved people have their own conscience as pure law.
Lao Tzu

We have a lot of laws that we are supposed to adhere to in today’s society. Our “lawmakers” seem to think that it is their job to make more laws for us to follow each year. After all, if they aren’t making new laws, debating over them and voting on them, how would they justify their salaries which the tax payers pay them or the raises which they so generously give themselves? They have to do something to justify putting their hands in the till. But what gives these people the right to make our laws?

Okay, sure we give them the right by voting them into office, that’s a given. But let’s look a little deeper at this issue. Are these people wiser or more honorable? Are they more knowledgeable about what is good for you and me than we are ourselves? Is it that they have more integrity and therefore they know how we should all live our lives? Well, speaking as someone who has worked in one of our “esteemed” legislative bodies, I can tell you without any doubt, the answer to all of these questions is a resounding NO!

Government has no rights; it is a delegation
from several individuals for the purpose of securing their own.
Percy Bysshe Shelley

Power must never be trusted without a check.
John Adams

These people are not wiser or more intelligent. They are certainly not men of true honor, at least the majority of them aren’t. They definitely do not have the integrity of a warrior. I have rubbed elbows with governors, senators, representatives and the like, and I have been privileged to see first hand what happens behind the scenes when the sessions are out and the reporters are gone. These are not men of honor…far from it. So why then do we feel that the limits which these men give us are close to sacred? Wow, they passed another “law” and we must obey the law…no matter how asinine the law may be.

The laws keep up their credit, not by being just, but because they are laws;
’tis the mystic foundation of their authority…
They are often made by fools;
still oftener by men who, out of hatred to equality, fail in equity;
but always by men, vain and irresolute authors.
Montaigne

The more corrupt the State the more numerous the laws.
Tacitus

These “laws” are not sacred, people. They are made by men with questionable honor and integrity. Many times they are made with hidden agendas which you and I will never be privy to. I happen to set in on several “meetings” between a railroad lobby and state representatives in which secret deals were made under the table. Money changed hands, all by “legal” means of course, in exchange for specific votes on specific laws. Were these laws for the good of the people? What do you think…

Government is an association of men
who do violence to the rest of us.
Tolstoy

You are probably thinking about now, what does any of this have to do with the warrior lifestyle? Well, I’m glad you asked. As a warrior, you have to consider what is right in all your actions. Legal does not necessarily equal right, and illegal does not necessarily equal wrong. There may be times when the warrior has to decide between what is right and what is legal. Yes, sometimes the warrior has to do things which may be against the law. Conversely, there are many things which are considered legal according to our laws, which the warrior will consider dishonorable according to the code he lives by.

Government is essentially immoral.
Herbert Spencer

This may sound strange to many of you, but it is reality for the warrior. An example that many people can relate to would be the issue of abortion. (Please don’t turn this blog into a debate over abortion, this is just an example.) Abortion is legal in this country, but there are millions of Christians in our country who would not consider abortion an ethical option for themselves. It goes against their principles. In the same way, there are many things which are legal which go against the principles which the warrior lives by.

Never do anything against conscience
even if the state demands it.
Einstein

Moreover, the warrior must do things which are illegal at times in order to hold fast to his integrity and honor. For example, did you know that it is illegal in Colorado to give aid to a runaway? I once had a student who ran away from home because she was being sexually abused. She called me, as her teacher, in the middle of the night, cold and hungry, and asked for help. I helped her and gave her food and shelter, even though it was against the law. Having worked with the local social service office, I knew better than to call them right away, I had to think about what was best for this student.

Later, it was discovered that I gave her food and shelter for a couple of days until I decided what I should have her do. Social services, the local police, her parents, and the school administration all turned on me like a pack of wolves. They wanted me jailed. Charges mysteriously went away though when I contacted her well known parents and told them I knew what was happening in the home. Hummmmm imagine that…a discretionary law dropped because of an inconvenient truth. These “sacred” laws are very flexible for the right people, as we see over and over in our country.

Don’t oppose forces, use them.
R. Buckminster Fuller

There are many examples where the code of the warrior and the law of the land do not mesh. What is important to the warrior is not necessarily these “laws” but rather the issue of right and wrong. The warrior lives by his own code of ethics. He determines what is permissible and not permissible for himself. This code of honor is the highest law of the land for the warrior. He must live by his code of honor regardless of what the politicians say. At the same time, the warrior must be careful when the time comes that he has to break the law…self defense includes all areas, even defense against prosecution.

It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
Voltaire

The warrior sets his own laws. Now, I am not saying that we should totally disregard our laws and do whatever we wish, although if everyone lived the warrior lifestyle, laws would not be needed. But as we all know, very few people live the lifestyle of the warrior and therefore we have to have laws for people who refuse to govern themselves. Why is the warrior different? Because the warrior holds himself to a higher standard than anyone else could possibly expect from him.

Wise people, even though all laws were abolished,
would still lead the same life.
Aristophanes

The superior man is governed by decorum;
The inferior man is ruled by law.
Chinese Proverb

The warrior doesn’t need laws to keep him in line. His own sense of right and wrong, and his sense of honor and integrity keep a tighter reign on his actions than any outside law. Even if there were no laws at all, the warrior would still do the right thing. Yes, the warrior still obeys the laws of the land…until they go crosswise to the laws of his spirit. Then his code of honor trumps the law of the land. His code of honor is the “higher law.” Be your own law; be a man of character, honor and integrity. Live by the Higher Law.

Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist.
Emerson

The just man is himself his own law.
Catacombs Inscription


Bohdi Sanders
Warrior Wisdom