Problems in Pakistan continue to grow following the declaration of a state of emergency by Pervez Musharraf on Saturday and the imposition of what looks an awful lot like martial law. Interestingly, one of the largest groups to take to the streets in protest against the state of emergency were thousands of protesting lawyers, many of whom were arrested after clashing with police.
It kind of makes me wonder what would happen in this country if the president were to suddenly implement martial law and suspend all of our civil rights. I guess it would be a fair bet that certain groups would take to the streets in protest, but I have a hard time believing that American lawyers would be amongst the people leading the charge. Although the law and the proper implementation of the law are the bread and butter of the legal profession, it seems like most people who become lawyers in the U.S. do so as almost a sort of business decision, with legal practice serving as the product that they're selling. Taking to the streets in defense of their legal system sort of demonstrates to me that Pakistani lawyers may see the legal profession as almost more of a calling- a profession in which one becomes invested in and dedicated to a system of legal rights which their clients avail themselves of. Americans see our legal system more as a sort of malleable tool that's important to us mostly insofar as it serves our own ends. I'm not sure how dedicated American lawyers are to our legal system, in and of itself. Does this differentiation make any sense? I'm having a hard time articulating my thoughts here.
I guess I just see it as a difference in priorities. I think that if the American legal system were to come under attack, American lawyers would mostly file lawsuits and write angry letters. If that wasn't effective, they'd mostly throw up their hands and start retraining themselves for some other line of white collar work. Maybe PR, marketing, or sales. I'm not sure American lawyers would be willing to march or take a baton to the head in defense of our legal system. Well, maybe Jamie Spencer, but not most laywers. Most American lawyers pride themselves too much on being cynical, calculating, and objective to get caught up in some kind of political brouhaha over something as profitless (and potentially risky) as principle.
So hats off to the lawyers of Pakistan. Let's hope that no serious harm befalls them as they try to protect the legal system of their country.