Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D.

I leave you this fine evening with an essay by David Cole, who makes it sound as though punishment is something that happens to people (like a disease) rather than something that people bring on themselves through bad choices. How hard is it, really, to stay out of trouble with the law? Unlike morality, which demands a great deal of us, law lays down minimal requirements: don't murder; don't rape; don't steal; don't rob; don't kidnap; don't burn down people's houses; &c. I have no sympathy for people who can't abide by these rules.