Changing our Laws

Changing our Laws

Within an ever-changing legal environment, mismatches between legislations and societal values are commonplace. The law derives its power from the populace, and all constitutional and federal authorities are based on an implicit social contract. For this reason, the law must reflect the social values and attitudes of most of the people under its jurisdiction. For instance, the US amendment forbidding the sale of alcoholic beverages in 1920, was made at a time of public disdain for alcohol consumption. The bill was later repealed in 1933, because popular opinion had changed, and most Americans wanted to be able to purchase alcohol. People’s values and customs change on a regular basis, and the law must be able to accommodate such changes. However, laws are often slow to reflect the changes in people’s values. Constitutional amendments are thus vital interventions required to correct mismatches between the law and the evolving societal values.

The US war on drugs borders on failure, and the stringent legislations on drug use are to blame. The out-and-out war on drugs is an expensive waste of the taxpayer’s financial resources. If some parts of the American population want to consume drugs, it should be their choice rather than the government’s choice. Besides, that number accounts for less than five percent of the total population. Recent studies demonstrate that most of the suffering and harm associated with drugs is as a result of the punitive actions of the criminal justice department rather than the drugs themselves (Minhee&Calandrillo, 2019). At the time, few companies are permitted to manufacture and sell drugs. The legalization of drugs would provide an open-source development that can improve quality.

The law-makers need to enact legislation which prohibits jail-time for criminals with minor offenses. The current system that imprisons people for minor criminal offenses has severe social and economic ramifications. For one, it has increased the strain on correctional facilities and the justice department, which has hampered their effectiveness. According to the data from the criminal justice department, The United States has a penal population of 2.2 million adults, accounting for almost one-quarter of the world’s prisoners (Durose, 2019). With the high rate of incarceration, conditions in the correctional facilities have worsened, prompting various scientific investigations. Most of the prisoners have problems with drug or alcohol addiction, physical or mental illnesses, which makes the vulnerable. The economic and social impact on their families and communities is even causing greater concern..

Federal legislation that places more value on human life is required. Such legislation must supersede all the state laws to ensure that abortion is criminalized. Besides, these legislations should ban euthanasia, which is a clinically-sanctioned murder of the sick. The recent liberal sentiments supporting euthanasia and abortion degrade human life and have radical foundations. For example, the Nazis commission the mass killing of people with disabilities and chronic illness (Fernandes&Ecret, 2019). If America is to legalize abortion and euthanasia, it makes us no different from the fascists. Equally important, Medicare must be expanded to include all people with preexisting conditions and undocumented immigrants to allow them to benefit from health coverage.

References

Durose, O. (2019). The Growth of Incarceration in the United States: Leaving Proportionality Behind. Undergraduate Journal of Politics and International Relations, 2(1).

Fernandes, A. K., &Ecret, D. (2019). The Effect of Hierarchy on Moral Silence in Healthcare: What Can the Holocaust Teach Us?. Conatus, 4(2), 21-43.

Minhee, C., &Calandrillo, S. (2019). The Cure for America’s Opioid Crisis: End the War on Drugs. Harv. JL & Pub. Pol’y, 42, 547.