Monday, November 3, 2014
“First thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers”.
This line was part of Shakespeare’s famous play titled “Henry VI (Part 2)” and is taken out of context so often that even I feel overwhelmed with negativity…and I just heard about!
So what is it about this line that’s kept it so controversial and relevant since its birth over 400 years ago? No one seems to know whose side Shakespeare is on.
Straight To The Point…
Many people that have read the play or witnessed a live performance, may have gone too far with it and turned it into a mindset instead of a story. As if 400 years ago, Shakespeare was trying to bring awareness to his audience about corrupt lawyers. There’s very rarely a good reason to argue about something that is fictional, unproven, or subject to change…but especially fictional.
This line is taken straight from a conversation that a corrupt leader, Cade, is having with the audience alongside his also-corrupt sidekick Dick the Butcher. Cade is describing what sounds like a “perfect” world in which his citizens will live in for a small cost; they must worship Cade as their lord.
He lures the audience with tempting promises, claiming that “there shall be no money; all shall eat and drink on my score, and I will apparel to them all in one livery that they may agree like brothers, and worship me their lord.”
If that doesn’t sound corrupt right from the start, I don’t know what does. I quite certain Americans would be rioting if a sitting President said something like this:
“My fellow Americans,
As of tomorrow, our currency that we’ve worked so hard to maintain will be irrelevant.
“But food for my family?!” you may wonder…
I see it as no issue, for under my new set of laws, each and every one of you will be treated as my own. Food banks will replace all of our supermarkets, ration cards will replace all of your debit cards, and poverty in the United States shall be abolished at once.
On Monday, we will be holding a public vote for the nation’s uniform. All citizens are to wear identical attire whose appearance is to be determined by said vote, however; don’t stress, my minions! The government and I will continue to bear our distinct attire to ensure your ability to tell us from the general public. Remember though, no good deed comes free of charge; I expect an overwhelming amount of praise sent my way, for I am your lord.”
What kind of backup would a president need to pull something like that off? Better yet, what would he not need? The answer is “interference”. Who’s the first person that would interfere with unlawful actions being pushed onto the general population?
Well, you’d probably hope the answer was “the Police”, but I’d imagine if the President was corrupt they would be right there with him…so who comes next? Lawyers…
Perhaps the sub-header of this section was misleading…let’s get back on topic, shall we?
The Majority…
You can quickly see how easy it could be for that single line to spread around and stir up commotion. You’d have those who take it at face-value rejoicing, you’d have those who read the original statement in its entirety vigorously arguing with the majority, and you’d have those who sit back and shake their head in disappointment.
The original Shakespeare line must be one of the most taken-out-of-context quotes ever known to man.
“Kill all the lawyers!” says Dick the Butcher,
Because people may think lawyers are too expensive for their line of work, or that some lawsuits are frivolous, they choose to take this quote at face value.
“Yes! Do kill all the lawyers! Those darn guys are too expensive for me!”
The Truth!
Read just a little bit further into the dialogue and you’ll soon realize that these men are corrupt officials trying to steal the rights of their citizens. Lawyers are seen as an obstruction for these people to gain ultimate power and authority over the citizens. By removing the obstruction their accountability is drastically diminished. The citizens would be rendered powerless if there was nobody to stand up for them.
Florida Governor Rick Scott has recently been quoted at a private fund raiser event stating that his first goal is to take out the Trial Lawyers. Some other topics that he discussed are the following:
· Judicial appointments will have a mandate to reverse favorable plaintiff’s verdicts.
· House Bill 1 this year will be caps on damages in all cases and Senate Bill 1 will be the abolition of Bad Faith. He expects that by the time this issue reaches the Florida Supreme Court, his handpicked majority of justices will have no problem deferring to the wisdom of the Governor and the Legislature.
· He will also seek to create a limited fee schedule for all letters of protection for Florida medical providers.
And here we are…“One Nation, Under God”, standing by the sides of the only real enemy; criticizing those who are only trying to help; jumping to discover the deep meaning of a quote written by a famous playwright over 400 years ago.
What happened to giving people the benefit of the doubt? Can we not assume that Shakespeare was trying to make a positivepoint in his story?
Do we—as a nation—truly believe that lawyers are only in it for the money? As the wise Carl Grimes of AMC’s “The Walking Dead” said…
”Everyone can’t be bad.”
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