LESSON LightofRestorationPeace,WorldCulture,Heavenly 10 LAW-ABIDING CITIZEN LESSON OBJECTIVES 1 Understand the relationship between democracy, constitution, and compliance. 2 Understand the role that a compliant citizen plays. TERMS TO KNOW • Law-abiding citizen • Compliance • Oath of office
2 10. Law-Abiding Citizen Democracy Constitutionand Democracy, which means rule by the people, emerged in the process of trying to recover human dignity, freedom, and equality by breaking away from the rule of a few powerful people such as kings and nobles. In order to realize democracy, it was necessary to control the tyranny of those in power by placing them under the control of the law. The constitution emerged from this process. The constitution is the highest standard within the country; it is a principle that all citizens, including the ruler, must abide by; it is the basis of a country’s laws. Humanity has been able to realize the rule of law and democracy through the constitution. Therefore, democracy and constitutions are inseparable.
What will happen if the people do not know the constitution and those in power do not obey it? Or what if some powerful people had the power to amend the constitution at their will? If that happens, the constitution will no longer protect the rights
Figure 10-1 USA President Biden taking oath of office
Duty to Abide by The Constitution
10. Law-Abiding Citizen 3 of the people, and that country’s democracy will face a crisis.
Law-Abiding Citizen Even if there is a law, it becomes useless if the subject who is obliged to follow does not follow it. Therefore, the existence of value and utility of the law lies in its compliance. As important as the existence of the law is the spirit of compliance. A law-abiding citizen is a person who voluntarily obeys the law in accordance with his conscience with the spirit of lawabiding.Asociety with many law-abiding citizens is orderly, safe, and peaceful. Streets without robbers will be safe to walk at night. A shop without thieves would put things anywhere without the fear of them being stolen. Businesses will strive to minimize discrimination and inequality. Members of society will respect the rights and freedoms of others. The realization of such an ideal democratic society depends not on the laws written on paper,
In a democratic country, all state institutions and public officials are obliged to abide by the constitution and laws. In some countries, when a ruler takes office, they take an “oath of office” stating that they will abide by the constitution and laws. The oath of the office of the President of the United States is like the following: “I (name) solemnly swear that I will faithfully perform the office of President of the United States of America and will do my best to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States of America.” The oath of office by the German President and Chancellor is like the following: “I swear to do my best for the welfare of the German people, to promote their welfare, to protect them from danger, to uphold the Basic and Federal Laws, to perform my duties is good faith and to do justice to all.” In addition, all citizens must abide by the Constitution and laws as the owners of a democratic country. To do this, one must first try to understand the contents of the law. Furthermore, the role of monitoring whether national laws are being complied with should not be neglected.
4 10. Law-Abiding Citizen but on the citizens’ law-abiding spirit and their efforts to uphold the law. Figure 10-2 Baltic Chain (Chain of Freedom), Two million citizens made a 690km (430mi) human belt to show their aspirations for freedom
1 What is the relationship between democracy and the constitution?
4 What kind of person is a law abiding citizen?
5 What does a society with many law abiding citizens look like?
2 Research the Global Law and Order Report on the internet and discuss the differences between countries that abide to laws and order versus countries that do not.
Activities
Reviewing the Lesson
3 As the owners of a democratic country, what should the people do besides obeying the constitution and laws?
2 In a democracy, who has the duty to comply with the constitution and laws?
10. Law-Abiding Citizen 5
1 Take the time to evaluate whether the rules made in the class are being followed. Let’s discuss how you can get more class members to follow the rules.
Lesson10. Law-Abiding Citizen 5th floor 20, Nambusunhwan-ro 347-gil, Seocho-gu, Seoul, South-Korea Tel. +82 02-514-1963 Fax. +82 Thehwpl@hwpl.krhttp://www.hwpl.kr02-514-1961firsteditionon31 July 2022 Published by Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light Copyright 2022 Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light All rights reserved. You must get consent from a copyright owner to use all or parts of the contents of this book. Image Credits Figure 10-1 https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/President_Biden_taking_oath_of_ office_%28cropped%29.png Figure 10-2 L. Vasauskas, CC BY-SA jpeghttps://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/Baltic_Way_in_Moteris_magazine.4.0,