It is essential on grounds of principle because the law has defined this nation, a nation of laws not of men, since its founding. “Reverence for the laws,” as Abraham Lincoln observed, is the “political religion of the nation.” It would by a Pyrrhic victory if, in our struggle to preserve this country against the threat of international terrorism we sacrificed so central a part of what this country stands for and why it has been a model for the rest of the world.

I can understand why they say that we are 'a nation of laws', but I think the fact that it's true is a big part of our problem. There are a lot of really irrational and corrupt laws on the books and enforcing them is no virtue, it's merely irrational and corrupt. I think that we would be better off if we adopted the wording from the Pledge and called ourselves 'a nation of Liberty and Justice for ALL' and then made sure that it was true. Yeah, it's a little more work, but I think it would be worth it.