Protectors of Our Safety
Written By Craig M.
The legal system in the United States plays an integral part in helping to provide for our safety. The laws currently in place have been developed over the years to provide checks and balances for many aspects of life and safety, and many times, the legal system is the only recourse to enforce those laws.
At first glance, the legal system is often accused of being part of the problem with safety in the United States because of the laws that have been implemented and upheld under challenges. But, when the system is studied more closely, the legal system can be determined to be the biggest asset in protecting safety. When a person looks back at history, many factories and businesses were not providing safe working environments for their employees. Employees were forced to work long hours with few breaks, at low salaries, and with unsafe equipment. Children were forced into labor at an early age in the same bad conditions with no one to help them. Laws were eventually put into place to protect the safety of employees however, many business owners saw the legal system as the problem because through litigation cases, the owners were required to follow the laws and change their ways. Once the labor laws were put into place, it was the legal system that helped to ensure the safety of workers, and working conditions became safe for the first time. The legal system helped to improve conditions then and helps to protect the safety of workers today.
The legal system helps to provide for our safety in other ways. The legal system helps to protect the environment. The laws that are in place regulating air, water, public utilities, forests, farms, etc. are in place to make sure that there is a safe environment in which to live the legal system helps to protect the environment by requiring adherence to these laws or facing legal action. When a person has an environmental problem such as a factory violating air pollution regulations, the legal system can step in and represent that person and help to return the environment to a safe level. A person on their own has little power or ability to do anything, but with the legal system to help, many changes can be made.
The most obvious place in which the legal system is often called upon to help provide safety is in the area of citizen rights. Many times, without the aid of the legal system, civil rights would be violated with no recourse for a person to seek retribution or receive equal treatment or a fair judgment. The laws of this country were carefully made and put into place but not everyone is willing to follow them especially in the areas of personal and civil rights. Without the aid of the legal system and lawyers who are willing to fight for the rights of their clients, many children would not receive their rightful protection in divorce proceedings; many accident victims would not be able to get the medical care that they need; and many people would not be able to live in safety wherever they wanted to live. These are only a few examples of how the legal system works to help provide for our safety.
Can the point be made conclusively that the legal system works to provide for the safety of people? Without a doubt this is true. The legal system is often the first and only voice that is heard protecting the rights of the people whether it involved labor safety, environmental safety, personal or civil rights, or many other areas of safety. Without the legal system to work with the people, our country would be like those who have no rights; who do not have fair courts; who do not receive justice; and who do not have the assurance that someone will help them and do their best to protect their rights and ensure their safety. Every citizen should be grateful for the legal system and the dedicated lawyers that we have in the United States because the system works in their favor to protect everyone. That is not the case in many other countries in the world.
