By: Peter Lawrence
First off, it was truly an honor to have Professor Rosenbaum and Actor Richard Dreyfuss on the same stage, two guys with common sense. Mr. Dreyfuss made some very powerful comments. Mr. Dreyfuss made a warning to all in the crowd and those viewing on simulcast, that we as a people will have a very troubling future. I couldn’t agree more. America has been swimming in a sea of ignorance for quite some time now, and it hurts seeing how deep we may sink. Our educational standards are lousy, our patriotism is silencing our ability to accept or acknowledge criticism, and our elitist mentality has left us with misunderstanding of the world. I was born overseas, I have lived overseas. There is nothing worse than to see how we hold a negative view of others.
In particular, our legal system has failed us. We don’t look for the truth, we look for the way we would like the truth to sound like. This was by far, the most powerful message I have ever heard in law school. Mr. Dreyfuss hit the nail right on the head. Our legal system rewards those who are able to adjust the truth, not those who are able to profess the truth. We jockey forever over the truth and we end up where we started, with no justice in sight. Our court proceedings are wasteful and solve no dispute and do not focus at the heart of our problems, the morality associated with legal decisions. Professor Rosenbaum played a key video clip from The Dreyfus Affair, a film based on the novel. The clip showed how public outrage took control over the court, how judges paid little to no attention to the facts and focused more on the way they saw the case, with a narrow view. As a result, justice was thrown out of the window. The court seemed like the scene in To Kill A Mockingbird, when Atticus Finch faced a crowd that refused to accept the back-story associated to a party’s case. It reminds us of how useless the legal system can be when trying to resolve disputes, bring closure to emotional tragedies, and repair societal damages made as a result of the conflict. At this moment, Mr. Dreyfuss told us to champion ourselves for the right causes. We know what is right, and it serves little to world, when we silence ourselves.
This memorable evening reminded me of the beginning of the course when Professor Rosenbaum told us that one day we will put a judge to champion these values. It will take time, but changes will be made and resolutions will be sought. Here, I couldn’t agree more. I have seen the faces of defeat, felt the emptiness associated with a loss in court. These events strike at the core of humanity, the will to feel human, and it demoralizes those who are affected by the decisions that legal officials make. I don’t know where I will end up in the legal field, but I do hold these values to heart and I one day we will look beyond the cases and text and see what the law really should be, a guide to spiritual relief in an imperfect world filled with conflicts.
I was born in this country, and lived over seas for many years. While my view of Americans waned while overseas, and so did my patriotism, I believe it is back. I think our lack of patriotism and a national identity is more a problem than being overly patriotic.
I have also heard foreigners comment on American and how narrow minded Americans are. When i ask, “Where did you live in America?”
They respond with one location. And if I ask if they visited any other part of the country the response is usually no.
But really, how can things change? Lower income Americans aren’t afforded the legal services that wealthy Americans are afforded. What precedent has been set, when a man is acquitted for killing his wife in front of the whole country? Or a woman wins a million dollar law suit against a company for spilling hot coffee on her lap? And why should a woman, who is caught in a car accident, and debilitated for life, must fight for the scraps of health care, while the insurance companies do nothing? Where are the lawyers fighting the AIG and GM payoffs? Where are the lawyers fighting for the poor Americans? Why are grand juries trying people who don’t even have Visa’s. Why is our nation court’s time being wasted on people who aren’t even citizens of this country? Why do we as American’s, care more about the poor people in other parts of the country, and we haven’t even rebuilt the homes destroyed by Katrina in the south? Where are the lawyers pushing for laws to restrict companies from out sourcing jobs to Dubai and India? Where is the justice for the working class in America? Maybe we need to focus more on what is going wrong in this country, instead of trying to take care of the problems of the world. But really. I don’t see that changing any time soon. There’s no money in it. And unfortunately, money is the bottom line.