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Just watched The Ox-Bow Incident last night and was struck by the message contained in this venerable old movie that so many people seem to have forgotten these days.

I'll try not to spoil the movie for those who haven't seen it, so I'll necessarily limit the context and quote only this:
Law is a lot more than words you put in a book, or judges or lawyers or sheriffs you hire to carry it out. It's everything people ever have found out about justice and what's right and wrong. It's the very conscience of humanity.
Ignoring the law when it's convenient or uncomfortable is breaking trust with our forebears, who act as our conscience today by virtue of the laws that have been laid down over the years.

It's a very powerful message that seems to be particularly applicable today.

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