To Artuer

Artuer 4

My dear son,

I wish I could persist as king without laws, but the people are not accustomed to self-governance. I would like to imagine that for them to govern themselves would set them free. But most seem to view it as a loss of security. There is security in law. Following someone else’s laws alleviates the responsibility of thinking about ones actions, relative to someone else, in exchange for thinking about ones actions relative to the law.

We behave differently, more thoughtfully, when we consider the well-being of one another, rather than our own well-being as determined by laws. Indeed, laws do not completely remove that responsibility. Yet, imagine how things would change if laws were written inside us, as the result of our concern for one another. How different we would be then. But this does not bode well for a king or ruler of any sort, who seeks to own the monopoly on fealty, who seeks to ensure that the people owe to him, the trust they could place in each other.

I digress. Here and now, laws were needed, and I am king, so laws I gave them.

1 Protect one another.

2 Do not kill unless there is no other way to be safe.

3 Do not remember one another’s faults, but remember one another’s character.

4 If there is a conflict among you, do what is best for all to conclude the conflict quickly.

5 Do not serve one another under oath. Serve one another because you understand that all life is as valuable as your own.

6 Do not take from one another to satisfy your own needs. Give to one another until no one has need.

7 Be kind to one another.

8 If you have enemies, do what you can to show them that you are not their enemy. Do not be their enemy in mind. If they move to strike you, defend yourselves as necessary. Do not do more harm than is needed.

9 Seek balance in all things.

10 Do not take more than you need of anything, unless there is enough in abundance for all.

11 As you seek balance, balance yourselves first, then help balance one another.

12 Do as you will for yourself. Do not force your will on others.

13 Be masters of yourselves only, and of no one else.

14 Do not serve anyone who seeks to be master over you.

This is a start, to set the people on the path to self-governance. Though I have promised a form of punishment, as is customary in law, I will not truly punish anyone for disobedience. That is reserved for those who seek to harm others unnecessarily. My intent is to teach whomever is willing to learn.

Life is so much more abstract, so much more expansive and diverse than the limits humankind often attempts to place on it. Therefore, laws can rarely, if ever, be truly just and justifiable. Changes have to be made, edits, to ensure that exceptions are taken into account. There are always exceptions. Which is why laws that fail to meet the needs of the people, must be reformed, to be based on the needs of the people, defined by them, rather than defined in spite of them.

I explain my laws in greater detail in my book of law. You are always welcome to it.

Remember these guides my son, for they are meant to guide you, not rule you.