Notable Quotable: Anacharsis On Laws & Spider Webs

“Written laws are like spider webs and, like them, will only entangle and hold the poor and weak, while the rich and powerful easily break through them.”

— Anacharsis, Scythian philosopher (fl. c. 600 B.C.)

Anacharsis lived nearly 2500 years ago, but in this one quote, we realize that humanity has failed to evolve in its moral character despite the vast universe of moral teachings upon which our laws are based.

Those with money and power place themselves above the law, and because they view themselves as above any law, they break them with impunity. They don’t need to justify their actions.

Our president believes he’s allowed to break any law he wants since others do it, and due to the delusion he’s saving our country in the process. Does that mean we should allow it?

As thoughtful citizens, we should ask ourselves, how on earth does it make America great by forgiving the former Honduran president who orchestrated one of the most violent drug-trafficking operations in the world—one that involved shipping 400 tons of cocaine to the U.S. with the stated desire to “Shove drugs right up the noses of the gringos?”

Now, our president, with the aid of the CIA, is bombarding Venezuela supposedly to stop drugs from coming into this country. But his plan all along has been to seize their oil reserves. 

Everyone with any knowledge of U.S. foreign policy knew he was dipping his toes into that water when he started blowing up fishing boats under the guise of stopping narcotraffickers. But since he's pardoned the biggest fish off the coast, should we continue to play games and allow it? Where’s the outrage? Where are the protests?

Sadly, this form of law-breaking is very costly and at the expense of America’s overburdened taxpayers. It’s also more bad karma for our nation. It’s not going to make us great no matter how much oil we end up controlling.

Millions of wrongs committed by corrupt individuals don’t make this president right. We should expect much, much more from our leaders. We should demand it.

Wrong not only teaches wrong, it inspires wrong in others. It’s a legacy passed from one generation to the next, instilling its thrill into younger generations like part of a genetic code.

In the end, the wrong we do to others will be done to us one way or another. And this legacy can never be justified rationally or, in any measure, make us great.