This past Saturday (May 1) was "Law Day." Pursuant to 36 USC 113 (1958), the statute instituting law day, the purpose is to appreciate liberties and loyalty to the United States -- and "(1) rededication to the ideals of equality and justice under the law in their relations with each other and with other countries; and (2) for the cultivation of the respect for law that is so vital to the democratic way of life."
One can get an impression about a society’s ideals by looking at what events and holidays are commemorated or celebrated. Although the enforcement of Law Day does not come along with the kind of community activities and public programming that one may associate with Martin Luther King, Jr. Day or Christmas, the institution of the day and the repeated proclamations by a series of US Presidents, encouraging involvement in Law Day activities, indicate the extent to which our society’s goals include equality, justice, respect for the law, and a democratic way of life.
Law Day was instituted in 1958. President Eisenhower signed a proclamation that specified the day as a day to remember “with pride and vigilantly guard the great heritage of liberty, justice and equality under law which our forefathers bequeathed to us.”
He further proclaimed “it is our moral and civic obligation as free men and as Americans to preserve and strengthen that great heritage.” Although Law Day was signed into law, several presidents, including our most recent (Clinton, Bush, and Obama) have issued proclamations endorsing or repeating the ideas proclaimed by President Eisenhower.
The key to making Law Day meaningful is to determine how best to strengthen the heritage of our legal system, the ideals of equality and justice, and the democratic way of life. Most of the articles in this blog have leave me wondering “what can we do” about the problem of legal literacy and civic engagement. One can easily imagine the democratically and legally engaged society, but we rarely see activities today that advance the cause.
Like the United States, India is a large nation where many are unaware of their rights, and further unaware of how to act on them. Concerned about this, the bar associations in India have begun to create and endorse some very innovative ideas. These ideas inspire me that a change of course is very possible.
On April 28, 2010, the Times of India published an article “Legal Literacy Chariot Launched in Dharwad.” A similar article was published in The Hindu. The articles discuss a campaign to educate those in rural disconnected areas, about the legal system upon which they live. Rural Indians’ primary legal needs involve disputes over public utility services, proper policing, and social welfare.
Thus, the legal literacy chariot provides lectures to the people on these subjects, human rights, and consumer rights. As these programs are very new, we presume results are not yet available. Justice Elipe Dharma is quoted in another article stating that inaugurating a legal literacy and awareness camp in Chennai, India says that access to legal aid and legal advice is crucial to making effective legal institutions. India’s legal literacy push is not limited to poor rural communities.
In Haryna, between one thousand and 1500 schools and colleges have within them newly formed legal literacy clubs using creative educational techniques such as writing, poetry, and paintings. Many of these club members are trained to spot legal issues in their community and introduce those in need with legal aid. Additionally are instituted legal literacy camps to apprise women of their legal rights, such as protection from domestic violence and sexual harassment.
To me, the concept of advancing legal literacy clubs seems to me to be a great way to advance the culture of respect for the law and the democratic way of life.
The democratic way of life suffers most when citizens do not believe their problems can be resolved through established legal channels, or that they have no access to the powers-that-be to advance needed changes. With legal literacy clubs, a population of young people is empowered to identify legal needs and to educate those in need about potential legal remedies and options.
Furthermore, social contract theory teaches us that when those with legal problems are aware that legal resolutions are available and functional, they are far more likely to resort to safe and legal means than those like to cause great social harm, like those of gangs or the mafia.
From the news articles in The Hindu, I have the impression that the school-based legal literacy clubs were formed primarily to address the technical problem of outreach to those needing legal help. However, I suspect that the social benefits are incalculable. Although I can't speak for India, in many communities in the United States of America, teenagers face very little social pressure to do good, only to do bad and involve themselves in behavior that is harmful to themselves and others.
Thus, mere visions of ethics, morality and justice are left to compete with the immediate gratification available from other sources. Legal literacy clubs, on the other hand, if done correctly, would likely provide an opportunity for legal literacy to be “the cool thing to do,” creating social pressure to be part of a generation of youth who are far more likely to advance civic society and justice than create damage to it.
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