Law 125which combine to produce not only law, but a spirit, an ethic, a
reservoir of knowledge, a national character into which that law
must fit.
The importance of law in society cannot be overstated. The
contention that the primary purpose of the state is to maintain
order has been challenged seriously only by those who contend
that the primary purpose of the state is to make law. With the
understanding that law is the product of many forces, all of which
are essential elements of the society, we must seek to understand
the purpose of law. The stock answer to the question, “What is
the purpose of law?” is “To provide justice.” But, the answer is
more complex.
Justice, simply defined is, that each person receive his due;
that we get what we deserve. That, however, is a definition only
in an ideal sense. Justice in the state must be predicated on that
idea, but as stated before, the complexities of the law and the
administration of justice require that we pass laws that truly
reflect the customs, morals, religion, and perceived rights of the
citizenry. But the vital element is that law is or ought to be the
rule of reason. That law is reasonable is the only valid justifica
tion for demanding compliance. Governments which pass laws
which are unreasonable, to the extent they are unreasonable, will
reap a bitter harvest. Enforcement of such laws requires a
disproportionate amount of effort. Imagine a stop sign put up on
a road where there is no reason for it—no intersection, no access
road, no hill, no curve, no reason at all. Those who drive that road
often will soon learn to go right through the sign. And to enforce
the law will require constant police surveillance of that part of
the road. In a just society, one could expect that the sign would
be removed when violators explained to judges and/or juries
why they ran the stop sign. If such a sign existed, and there was
no reasonable justification for erecting it, it would soon be
removed.
That the law is reasonable does not mean that all reasonable
men will agree as to what should or should not be law. But
reasonable men should be able to agree that the law is reasonable
according to some point of view, and to that extent is not lacking
in reason. There are many reasonable yet disputable and even
contradictory views as to how the AIDS epidemic should be
dealt with. But no one seriously suggests all AIDS victims be