St. Thomas Aquinas wrote about laws that certain of them have moral authority in and of themselves. Such things as murder, and assault have moral force because the actions are repugnant, and an affront to the other, God as he might say. Other laws have moral authority because of our living in a community. (The exact terms that Aquinas uses escape me.) These laws forbid actions that are benign in themselves but are morally wrong when done in certainly situations, specifically within a community with agreed upon codes. So there is no moral precept that demands that we drive on the right side of the road, or that it is immoral to drive on the left side, but because driving on the left side of the road endangers other drivers then it becomes immoral to drive on the left side of the road.

I am trying to figure out why watching the video of the LAPD beating people in the streets would start me thinking about Aquinas, but it did. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1kEu6eRklo) I don’t know necessarily that Aquinas would condemn the police, he was pretty authoritarian. Perhaps it was simply thinking about the nature of laws, how “law” is used, how “law” has been so divorced from morality (this is not the same as legislating morality, but that laws should have some basis in morality, or ethics). I guess this is the connection to Aquinas. Whereas with Aquinas, there were two forms of law. First, those laws that have moral authority, (it doesn’t matter if you believe that the authority comes from God, an innate sense of right and wrong, or evolutionary biology) in themselves, and second those that have moral authority by virtue of agreed upon codes that may harm others if broken.

“Law” today is mostly that which a coercive, nation, state, or city say is permissible and not permissible. More and more, law is what policing entities say. What is more is that the more coercive the power is the more moral authority the laws of that body are given. If you break a federal law then you have done something especially bad. State law is slightly less, and city codes, well it’s bad, but not too bad. And we seem to look at each other the same way. A federal law breaker, think those “horrible immigrants” that flaunt the laws of “our” land are nearly as bad as it gets, whereas the guy who runs the red light is little more than a jerk, despite the fact that the danger he poses is far greater.

But more and more “law” comes in and out of existence by the simple declaration of someone wearing a gun. Two examples. The first one though not as brutal as the second is just as disturbing. I was on the Fulton Mall a few weeks ago when I noticed 5 guys sitting on benches in front of the “Large Washerwoman.” Four of the guys were just four guys sitting around enjoying a nice spring day, talking, have a coffee, just taking it easy. The fifth guy likewise was enjoying a nice spring day, not involved in the conversation, but relaxing just the same. Two guys with guns, pepper spray, and clubs rode up on their bike gave the guy a citation and told him to get out of there. The two guys waited around for him to leave and then joked as they got back on their bikes. The two guys with guns were of course cops, and the guy that they imposed their will on was homeless. His crime was daring to show himself in a public place, pure and simple. The only difference between he and the other four guys sitting & talking was that he carried with him a black garbage bag of clothes. Those two thugs with guns, by virtue of their guns, pepper spray, and badges created “law” out of thin air, and that was that.

The second example took place a few days ago was in LA. The LAPD decided that having the wrong people gathered in a public place demanding respect and dignity could not stand. Clubs in hand, pepper spray at the ready, teargas flying overhead, and shotguns firing rubber bullets the LAPD descended on people practicing what they thought were their rights. Those people sadly learned that their rights extend only as far as those with guns and badges say.

In video footage of the police brutality several people were heard saying that “someday we’re not going to run, we’re going to come prepared.” Someday people may not accept that the “law” is to be obeyed simple because a coercive government, personified by guys with guns and badges say it is so.