I am drafting this column as we all are wondering how Hurricane Irma is going to affect us in Northeast Florida. We watch our cellphones to catch the latest projections to see if it’s coming our way (while guiltily hoping that it will go in a direction that will cause it to hit somebody else).
We share a sense of dread and excitement, but at the same time, we are reminded of the strength of our society and our profession as we observe the efforts to help those in Houston who were recently affected by another storm.
I hope that by the time you read this, we will have escaped a natural disaster. Sadly, it is only in the wake of disasters that we sometimes see the best in ourselves.
Certainly, that was true after Sept. 11, 2001, when a man-made disaster, created by terrorists, changed our view of the world and our safety in it. Following that tragedy, we came together and put aside our political differences and our social disagreements.
We had just endured one of the most divisive presidential elections that anyone could remember. Our state was mired in weeks of recounts, and the new president was elected through a process that many found questionable. Less than a year later, our country came together to fight pure evil and rallied behind that same leader.
Support for the president, though, wasn’t unconditional, nor should have it been, and our profession assured that the government maintained fidelity to the concepts that made this country great.
We still had our differences after 9/11, and lawyers gave voice to some of those differences. Though we found ourselves fighting the very worst elements of the human race, it was our profession’s responsibility to ensure that we maintained the standards upon which our country is based.
In retrospect, while there can be some disagreement on some of the methods used, overall we were able to maintain the rule of law and respect for our institutions. Lawyers played a large role in shaping that response, and ensuring that our system of government and commitment to decency was not jettisoned in the process of responding to the evil that attacked us.
Lawyers play a critical role after disasters, natural and man-made. Already in Texas, members of other state Bars are assisting those affected by Hurricane Harvey. I imagine the legal community will be called on to do the same after Irma.
In responding to these natural disasters, I’m sure we will come together as a society and as a profession.
That certainly doesn’t mean that our profession will forget about the challenges that are currently presented to it, and the very real questions that exist regarding the leadership of our nation. We live in an era in which large groups of our population are more committed to faction or partisanship than principles, and are willing to ignore substantial violations of those principles by persons of their own factional or partisan stripe.
As lawyers, we serve the purpose of maintaining the integrity of a system that was created more than two centuries ago, and which has evolved into a country committed to preserving and protecting human rights. As we commit ourselves to the very real and important duty of assisting our fellow citizens in the aftermath of tragedy, we also need to recognize our continuing commitment to maintaining our principles.