America loves the principled vigilante who slices through all the legal-bureaucratic red tape of the justice system and metes out fair punishment only to those who deserve it. And the most satisfying vigilante stories of all involve evildoers who escape on a technicality or who deliberately took advantage of the system somehow, only to be caught and punished by a take-no-guff type who doesn’t have the time to jaw with those candy-suited wussies from Division with all their paperwork and regulations.
We all enjoy such stories and wish things could be so simple. But with such fantasies in mind, I’d like to pause a moment and tell you what you’re really wishing for: Sharia Law. You see, the tribal code concept that underlies Sharia Law strives to settle matters quickly based on the best judgment of the wise ruling religious judge. Casey Anthony would have long ago been dead if she had wandered into a Sharia court.
Jack Bauer is wonderful when it works out, but we call it a lynch mob when things aren’t so clean and nice. So, as much as unjust verdicts and slow judicial systems may drive you crazy, keep in mind that there is a real, existing alternative not all that far away.
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