The OLD Philosopher – John M. Miller
The United States of America is politically polarized to a degree that may be unprecedented in our country’s history. Nowhere is this more evident than in the US Congress.
Because the numbers in both political parties are almost evenly divided in both Houses of Congress, many measures of proposed legislation fail to be passed. Those bills that are adopted, particularly having to do with social legislation, frequently end up in court before they become the law of the land.
Congress or state legislatures pass laws on such social issues as abortion, LGBTQ matters, and gender or racial questions, only to have them end up in court to be decided if they reflect legal and Constitutional requirements. There are more than enough attorneys who are elected to legislative offices or who serve on the staffs of legislatures that they should be quite confident these bills will pass judicial scrutiny.
Because of partisan polarization, if bills are rejected by the courts, the politicians commission public polls to be taken to determine the preferences of the body politic, hoping that may sway the courts. It is bad politics to pass dubious legislation and then to poll the public to see what they think when proposed laws are struck down by the courts.
Politicians, not judges, should enact policies. Political differences should be settled by legislatures, not by the courts or by public opinion. We elect legislators to pass the laws that direct government. The laws they pass should not require approval; in most instances laws should reflect previous legal precedents so that there is no necessity for anyone to challenge them in court.
With two and a half centuries of legal precedents, legislators and their staffs ought not to expect either the courts or the public to determine the validity of new laws adopted by the national or state legislatures. The legislators themselves should pass legislation that will mesh with the national or state constitutions. Otherwise, the courts will solve political disputes, and that is, prima facie, as they say in legalese, bad politics.
- January 5, 2024
John Miller is Pastor of The Chapel Without Walls on Hilton Head Island, SC. More of his writings may be viewed at www.chapelwithoutwalls.org.