A Man For All Seasons - Give the Devil Benefit of Law - Dec 30, 2009 12_27 PM.mp4

[thespotteddog]

Every violin needs a bow to make beautiful music. John Hurt should have won an oscar for this performance.

[ToonDubz]

I'm a descendant of Richard Rich :)

[TessaDior]

Ohhh that's so good. What a man!

[tsartodd]

a simple and eloquent defense of the Rule of Law ... that nonetheless seems to elude libertarians, Republicans, Wall Street and all those who argue for more deregulation.

[Madfoot713]

@tsartodd Ugh, I look for a classic video and the first comment's from some leftist nut. What a bad day.

[tsartodd]

@Madfoot713 if you think that anything that i wrote is evidence of being a "leftist nut" (instead of the relatively mainstream views that they are outside of Teabag or Paultard circles), then that only shows what a right-wingnut you are.

perhaps you should go look for clips from "Triumph of the Will" or "Birth of a Nation" -- that's more your speed, i think.

[BigDon62]

As I recall Richard gained Wales as his employment.

[TessaDior]

@BigDon62 He did, but only after betraying a friend and honest man to a falsely justified execution. Nothing is worth that.

[BigDon62]

@TessaDior {1} Not even Wales ? Apologies, I toy with your comment. You are correct of course. Betrayal of a good man & true is not worthy of any Kingdom not even for a horse. The betrayal of a bad & evil man is worth what others deem fit to bestow on one that does, those comments are tempered by the caliber of the betrayer & those that judge him, needless to say. Such is the burden of humanity of those of us that are quick & indeed slow to judge that we all should aspire to judge....

[BigDon62]

@TessaDior {2} correctly in the end, whatever our station in life. This is my philosophy on matters such as these & helps keep me of sane mind, although some have not judged that in accordance with my own thinking from time to time. Such is life & such is considered thinking me thinks. ☺ Tis a hazard of being human....if reincarnation is fact, which I think not, I would like to come back as a bird .FIN.

[MabusZero]

Modern politicos, their loyalists and their bureaucrats would all do well to see this play, and to study this scene closely in particular. A just society is founded on laws, not capricious and arbitrary decrees. And man's laws, not God's. Disavow those, and one gives into the oligarchic madness to which most societies decay in their own turn. A wise people would put their own journey through that degenerate madness as far off as humanly possible. Americans are not wise.

[MrMaxTruth]

"I'd cut down every law in England to do that." ,"And when the last law was laid down and the devil turns round on you where would you hide, the laws all being made flat. I give the devil the benefit of thelaw for my own safteys sake."

400 years later we look at those willing to permit torture to get at terrorists , nothing has changed much. The words pf Sir Thomas Moore are as just as relevant today as ever !

[MabusZero]

All law stands willing and able to try godkings and tyrants alike. Even by Machiavelli's strictures, most rulers and lesser persons standing wanting. Have courage, man, justice will be done in this century or another. As Gabriel declared, he brought good news that would bring news of great joy to all people. Why do lesser service to them?

[Dancingnoob]

2:00

[harlingtonstraker]

And this sums up why assassinating leaders is wrong. Even the likes Gaddafi and Saddam must be given benefit of Law. More so, in fact. Assassinating a Tyrant makes you like them.

[felixfaster]

@harlingtonstraker I think this scene applies to domestic evils when a system of law functions, but what if the system of law is made by the whim of the tyrant? No court would be able or willing to try a tyrant.

[PeterFormaini]

@felixfaster If law is determined by the whim of a tyrant, this it is not a 'legal system'. Right?

[RogueRotting360]

@PeterFormaini It is not. That is where in the case of Gaddafi, extradition (and sending him to the courts of a less suspect legal system) or reconstituting the legal system of Libya under the direction of the people, and supervised by a moral authority, is the wisest choice.

[pittland44]

@harlingtonstraker It may or may not make you like them, however: If you are willing to cast aside all legal pretense and just start feeding laws indiscriminately to the fire, then people will almost invariably soon follow.