Nasty Brutal and Solitary

Dear Readers, We govern ourselves with rule laws; we have a constitution that guarantees us basic liberties. Sometimes, we take for granted the blessings and bounty this brings. When we disregard the law, we are one step removed from barbarism.

Thomas Hobbes lived in a time of great political upheaval. In the Mid-17th Century, there was great tension between the growing mercantile class and the Monarchy in England. This led to the “Long Parliament” and then the “Rump Parliament,” which dissolved the House of Lords and the Monarchy. In many ways, this English Civil War foreshadowed the chaos of Paris less than two centuries later – people forcibly seizing the reigns of power. 

In 1653, Oliver Cromwell overthrew the Rump Parliament, using the Army to dissolve it in a military coup.  Cromwell awarded himself the title of “Lord Protector.” Upon his death, a position to which his son, before resigned a few years later, and the monarchy was restored when King Charles II was coronated in 1661. 

In the midst of this dysfunction (1651), Mr. Hobbes wrote the Leviathan, an opus of political observations.  In many ways, he is the father of the Enlightenment Age, as western political philosophers debated the optimum form of government.  

There are two quotes from the Leviathan, relevant to today’s events. The first, “Life in the state of nature is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” The second, “Government is necessary, not because man is naturally bad… but because man is by nature more individualistic than social.” In other words, government permits mankind to ascend to its promise. In this sense, he supported any government that brought order and allowed mankind to flourish. 

Over a century later, Edmund Burke, attributed by many as the Father of Conservatism, reflected on the brutal violence of the French Revolution. He was a great champion of the Monarchy and the rule of law, as opposed to the devolvement of government in France. He warned “People crushed by laws, have no hope but to evade power. If the laws are their enemies, they will be enemies to the law; and those who have most to hope and nothing to lose will always be dangerous.” 

What is happening in the Middle East proves Hobbes’ theory of how brutal life is without laws. Burke prophesied what happens to a people “crushed by laws”… bringing down the justice that separates us from this state of nature.  

The Palestinians are cursed with no real nation, no legitimate laws, and squalor, caught between a criminal syndicate and a hostile nation-state. Throw in religious conflict and this is a toxic brew of societal dysmorphia. The rule of law is so inconsistent and transient for them, they have no hope. Frighteningly, more than 50% of the Gaza strip is populated by citizens under 18, giving pause to what generations will emerge from this hopelessness and conflict. 

On the other side of this conflict, Israelites have suffered a psychic wound deeper than the cuts we suffered in 9/11. Revenge seems the only possible response. Hamas has taunted Israel into mutual savagery, bringing terror to a civil population on either side of the borders of the Gaza strip. 

This has resonance in our lives. First, the devolvement of a shaky peace in the Middle East has repercussions for the world. The United States being dragged into a war with Iran, in support of Israel, is well within the realm of possibility. Second, the inhumanity of killing babies, beheading mothers, hiding behind civilian populations, and suggesting the 2 million men and women become instantly dispossessed of their lives, is sickening. It shows what happens when laws crumble in the face of hatred. 

What Hamas did was unforgivable, intentionally terrorizing a civilian population with sociopathic glee has no place in the world. Israel seems bound to respond with the vengeance of the dogs of war. Dehumanizing acts met with a dehumanizing reaction. 

This is what the world looks like naked. Laws bring order to society and justice to a people. As Burke recognized, when the laws themself are oppressive, people rebel against legal order. This is the world of Hobbes’ state of nature. As Major Clifton said at the end of the movie “Bridge on the River Kwai” as Alex Guinness’s character sought to disclose the attempts to sabotage the bridge, “Madness… Madness.”

Warner Robins attorney Jim Rockefeller is the former Chief Assistant District Attorney for Houston County, and a former Assistant State Attorney in Miami. Owner of Rockefeller Law Center, Jim has been in private practice since 2000. E-mail your comments or confidential legal questions to ajr@rockefellerlawcenter.com.

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