Many Americans seem to view the law as a convenience rather than as the fabric that brings order to our society. They believe that the freedom our society guarantees gives them the right to pick and choose from among the rules that govern. They pick and choose which rules apply to them and consider it unfair when they are caught violating rules which were always known to them.

During recent events at Norwich, several members of the Corps of Cadets were investigated by the university for being members of secret societies. While many students were allowed to remain at the school, receiving in place of expulsion administrative punishments, several senior cadets left the school rather than bear out the full extent of the investigation.

These seniors were considered by many in the corps to be among the finest cadets attending the school. These same supporters claimed that the cadets in question should be allowed to remain at the university, despite university rules that call for expulsion for cadets found to be members of secret societies. When the university finally did force the cadets out of the school, members of the student body cried foul.

What the student body didn't realize is that the university did all it could for these students. It provided them every opportunity to correct their errors and at every opportunity these cadets failed to fulfill their obligation as members of the Norwich society to live by its rules.

Some argue that the lack of equity on the part of the university in dealing with the members of the secret societies is grounds to call the administration's treatment of these cadets unfair. The lack of equity on the part of the university is a response to the public pressure as it was. The truth is that university policy, the law under which every student agrees to live for the duration of their matriculation, calls for the administration to expel all these students. Allowing some of the students to stay was an act of compassion on the part of administrators. If they were truly "out to get students" none of the members of the LOS or the Night Riders would still be on campus.

Another area where some Americans are choosing to renege on their commitment to their country is in obeying the laws governing the use of illegal drugs. The law is plain: pot is illegal. Regardless of how harmful or harmless anyone believes the drug to be, the fact remains that possession of it by an individual constitutes a crime in the United States. Yet the 27 percent of people between the ages of 18-25, who the federal government claims used illegal drugs in 2000, believe that as individuals the laws do not apply to them.

Obeying or not obeying the rules is a choice made by each individual upon reaching adulthood. It is part of growing up. Either an individual chooses to be a part of society and live by its laws, earning the protection and help of their fellows, or they choose to be an outsider, a fugitive deserving nothing from the society at large and posing a danger to those who choose to live by the code.

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