Aliens Everywhere

When it comes to the law, there are many different types of people that can be considered illegal. While the most obvious form of alien is the illegal immigrant, an alien could actually be classified under a very broad umbrella. I really wanted to focus on the way the law can alienate innocent people, as well as the way society has the power to alienate the law makers in our democratic system.

My hypothesis was that if I dug deep enough, I would be able in some way to make everyone appear to be alienated. Every conflict has two sides to a story, and I think that there is a way from each point of view to create a sense of alienation. For example, in the Duke Lacrosse scandal, the players were the initial targets. However, the district attorney was under equal pressure from society to place the blame on anyone in order to look like he was a competent officer. The case resulted in lives being ruined because both the DA and the players rebuked because of their individual reactions to being alienated.

My conclusion after looking at tens of articles, and watching countless footage of the duke lacrosse players, Japanese incarceration and presidential impeachment was that people alienate others when they feel threatened. The law is in place to prevent such harsh actions, however often times the law makers is influenced under by a threatening force. For example, the patriot act was put in place by former President George W. Bush in response to threats against homeland security. Guantanamo bay was a reaction to the fear of threatening people walking the street.

My opinion of the matter is that alienation is unavoidable. People at one time in their life are going to feel alienated by the law. The law in the United States is based in a principle of "greatest good for the greatest number". With this type of attitude people are going to be inevitably get left out. I think that a little bit of alienation is good. I feel safe knowing that the government is alienating convicts and felons from society, but at the same time their needs to be a better way of rehabilitating them when they are released.

Finally, to wrap up my presentation, I just want to note how investigating the law as a form of alienation helped me recognize how many people are actually getting alienated by the laws in the United States. Although I don't think there is an exact remedy to the problem, as we can not abolish laws altogether, however the government needs to be more aware of how many people are hurting rather than focusing on how many they are helping.

Works Cited

1. Brooks Was Here Clip. [Video] (2004). Retrieved October 23rd, 2009., from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkSjw9h_FTs - brooks was here clip

2. Veres, Steve. "Community Members Decry Alleged rape of Vigil".