Rules of Evidence

This post was part of a discussion about the complications and problems with law caused by politics.

It is true that politics adds a lot of complexity to our law and is also responsible for a lot of bad laws. However, I do not think that human beings will ever be without politics. Politics is defined as:

Politics is the process and method of making decisions for groups. Although it is generally applied to governments, politics is also observed in all human group interactions including corporate, academic, and religious.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics

Politics is something that human beings naturally engage in. I am sure all of us remember lobbying our parents from the time we were small to push our own agendas within our families. Given how hardwired politics is in our brains, my guess is that politics is something that will always be with us.

The real trick is to conduct politics in a way in which everyone person has her say without resorting to violence. Last night I watched a movie entitled Blood Diamond. It showed how politics has been conducted throughout most of human history, one group slaughtering members of another group to get their way. The ability to reach political decisions and to change the group holding power without violence is only a little over 200 years old. This started with George Washington, when he voluntarily handed power over to John Adams.

Actually, George Washington handed power over twice. He first handed over power at the end of the Revolutionary War, when he stepped down as the Commander-in-Chief of American forces and went back to his farm. Concerning Washington's plans to return to his farm after the war, King George reportedly engaged in the following discussion.

Conversing with West during the course of the war, the king asked the American-born painter what Washington would do if he prevailed over the English forces. West said that he thought Washington would return to his farm. In West’s words, the king responded, “If he does that, he will be the greatest man in the world.” http://www.history.org/foundation/journal/Summer02/peale.cfm

Not only did Washington voluntarily hand over power once, at the end of the war, but after persuaded to leave his farm to serve as president, for a second he stepped down on his own after two terms as president. His example is one of the greatest gifts America has ever received. With the exception of Franklin D. Roosevelt every American president has handed over power to another president after no more than 2 terms in office.

After Roosevelt died in office during his fourth term, Americans amended the Constitution and placed Washington's example within the text as the 22nd Amendment. Most importantly, since Washington set the example no change in power in the United States has ever involved violence. Even in 2000, when the results of the election were heavily contested and the Supreme Court ruled in favor of President Bush in a 5 to 4 decision, Al Gore (a member of the ruling party) stood down and asked that the country give their support to the new president. No tanks rolled through the streets, no guns were fired in anger and no blood flowed.

In most of the world, such a peaceful transition of power is nothing short of a miracle. We all have benefited greatly from Washington's great example and from this American miracle which has occurred every four years for more than 200 years.

		July 7, 2007 *Washington's Gift*
	This post was part of a discussion about the complications and problems with law caused by politics. It is true that politics adds a lot of complexity to our law and is also responsible for a lot of bad laws. However, I do not think that human beings will ever be without politics. Politics is defined as: Politics is the process and method of making decisions for groups. Although it is generally applied to governments, politics is also observed in all human group interactions including corporate, academic, and religious. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics Politics is something that human beings naturally engage in. I am sure all of us remember lobbying our parents from the time we were small to push our own agendas within our families. Given how hardwired politics is in our brains, my guess is that politics is something that will always be with us. The real trick is to conduct politics in a way in which everyone person has her say without resorting to violence. Last night I watched a movie entitled Blood Diamond. It showed how politics has been conducted throughout most of human history, one group slaughtering members of another group to get their way. The ability to reach political decisions and to change the group holding power without violence is only a little over 200 years old. This started with George Washington, when he voluntarily handed power over to John Adams. Actually, George Washington handed power over twice. He first handed over power at the end of the Revolutionary War, when he stepped down as the Commander-in-Chief of American forces and went back to his farm. Concerning Washington's plans to return to his farm after the war, King George reportedly engaged in the following discussion. Conversing with West during the course of the war, the king asked the American-born painter what Washington would do if he prevailed over the English forces. West said that he thought Washington would return to his farm. In West’s words, the king responded, “If he does that, he will be the greatest man in the world.” http://www.history.org/foundation/journal/Summer02/peale.cfm Not only did Washington voluntarily hand over power once, at the end of the war, but after persuaded to leave his farm to serve as president, for a second he stepped down on his own after two terms as president. His example is one of the greatest gifts America has ever received. With the exception of Franklin D. Roosevelt every American president has handed over power to another president after no more than 2 terms in office. After Roosevelt died in office during his fourth term, Americans amended the Constitution and placed Washington's example within the text as the 22nd Amendment. Most importantly, since Washington set the example no change in power in the United States has ever involved violence. Even in 2000, when the results of the election were heavily contested and the Supreme Court ruled in favor of President Bush in a 5 to 4 decision, Al Gore (a member of the ruling party) stood down and asked that the country give their support to the new president. No tanks rolled through the streets, no guns were fired in anger and no blood flowed. In most of the world, such a peaceful transition of power is nothing short of a miracle. We all have benefited greatly from Washington's great example and from this American miracle which has occurred every four years for more than 200 years.