Guest Post: There Are Some Who Do Not Need To Obey Our Laws

There Are Some Who Do Not Need To Obey Our Laws

Colonel Donald J. Myers USMC (Ret)

I had always thought that our laws were meant for everyone and if you did not obey them, there were consequences. The senate is required by law to submit a budget each year, but it has not done so for the last four years. Now the senate has stated that it will present a budget for the next fiscal year soon. How is it that nothing was done when it did not obey the law for the last four years? The president is supposed to submit a budget by the first Monday in February and now we are told that it may be presented by the first week in April. Where is the outcry?

The media reported recently that thousands of Americans who work for the federal government owe millions of dollars in taxes. The actual number is over three hundred thousand Americans who owe over three and a half billion dollars. A sizeable number of them work in the White House or in the capital. There is no doubt in my mind that if I owed any amount of money for taxes that my pay would be docked. Why is that not happening with those who work for the government?

I recall reading a statement by General Douglas MacArthur years ago about military regulations and took it as my own. His comment was that one should never issue an order or regulation that you either could not or would not enforce. There is a lot of truth in that statement. If leaders believe that they can pick and choose which rules or laws that they will enforce or follow, then why wouldn't some of their followers think the same way? Employees or troops take their cues from the leadership. If the leader is a cheat and liar who does not care for anything except the bottom line or looking good to superiors, then the employees or troops with exceptions do the same. In the military, if the commanding officer is overweight, then a large percentage of the troops will be also.

Congress passed the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996 that stated that marriage was between a man and a woman. President Obama directed his Justice Department not to bother to enforce it since he did not agree. The immigration laws state that illegals should be apprehended and deported. Again, the president issued an executive order that exempts those who were brought to this country by their parents when they were children. That in effect is writing a new law and that is the responsibility of congress not the president. I thought that the president like most other federal employees took an oath to the constitution. I personally took that oath when I initially enlisted in the Marines. I again took it when I was sworn in as a midshipman at the Naval Academy and I also took it each time that I was promoted in the Corps from a second lieutenant to a colonel.

When we elect anyone to a political office, we expect that individual to follow the laws and regulations of the office. If they do not, it is up to us to demand consequences. Too often, those who violate our trust are not held responsible. It is time for that to come to an end. When individuals are not held accountable, then the door is open for others to follow suit. Mayor Giuliani cleaned up New York City by enforcing all the laws and the results changed the city dramatically. Crime statistics dropped dramatically.

We the people have the power, but far too often, we fail to use it. Demand that our laws be enforced. Demand that our politicians follow the laws. Demand that those who owe taxes pay them. None of this is rocket science, but common sense.