“If you want to know the heart and mind of America,” said Jacques Barzun, “learn baseball, the rules of the game.”
Baseball can teach us about ourselves … our heart and our mind.
You can’t play baseball without rules. In fact, you can’t play any game without rules.
You can’t even get people to try a game if you insist on making up the rules as you go along.
Rules are necessary. Reasonable rules. Rules to reveal what’s true about us all, what we want, what we’re willing to give up to get what we want … that sort of thing.
We cannot win if we don’t play by the rules?
One batter at a time. One pitcher on the mound. One man on first, second, and third. Three in the outfield, right, left, center, short-stop, catcher. That’s it! That’s what the rules require.
Rules that apply to every player on the field.
We need to get back to the rules … rules all of us can agree about, follow, and use to force others to follow.
Every person gets a chance at bat. None are favored. Every player gets his turn. Three strikes. Four balls.
We don’t have to like baseball.
But, we do have to live our lives according to rules, or all of us will surely suffer serious foreseeable consequences, predictable horrors and the continued rise of autocratic tyranny that favors only the rich and powerful.
The rules for our shared playing field should give everyone equal access to the benefits of government, to justice and affordable access to legal education so everyone can enjoy a peaceful existence free from unjust interference in our personal and business lives.
Justice doesn’t grow on trees.
It rewards those who know the rules that command judges and control lawyers.
For the game of life to give us peace and freedom from oppression, we must learn and use the rules of court to enforce our God-given rights. All must play by the rules – players and umpires alike, presidents, congressmen, senators, judges, legislators, governors, mayors, city councilmen, school board members, etc.
Until we all learn these rules, how can we require our leaders to obey? How can we force them to do what the rules require, if we don’t know the rules that command them?
Good leadership doesn’t change the rules. Good leadership doesn’t twist reality to get votes.
You have a system of judges paid by your tax dollars to sit in courtrooms and enforce a simple set of rules that you can learn, rules that give benefits to those who know the rules and how to use them tactically.
Isn’t it time to learn the rules?
Isn’t it time to enforce your God-given rights when they are challenged or abused by powerful people?
Isn’t it time to teach those simple, easy-to-learn rules to all Americans and to the people of every nation on his planet?
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