Fortunately, what I wanted to express the most was the issue of the rule of law in the United States. The rule of law in the U.S. can be summed up in one sentence. It is the U.S. Constitution and amendments to the Constitution, as well as a series of procedures in the investigation and trial of criminal cases derived from them. The main purpose is to protect the rights of citizens and prevent government crimes, rather than combat general social crimes. . This point cannot but be specifically mentioned.
As for the entire drama, what I think the screenwriter most wants to say is that in American society, no individual or group can fully achieve their goals without being fettered or restricted, and no one can win-take-all and do whatever they want. This is probably the so-called "check and balance" (check and balance). Drug dealers are constrained by the police and politicians, the police and prosecutors should be constrained by judges and the government, and the government should be constrained by the votes of the people and the media. The judges look great, but the trial is restricted to the jury, and every election is restricted to the Democratic/Republican party group (some of the judges’ elections are direct universal suffrage, and some are partisan elections). In the play, McNulty pressured Burrell through Judge Ferron and saved the task force on the verge of destruction several times. But Burrell also has his countermeasures. Phelan is a Democratic-oriented judge, and he took over the position of a retired (or resigned) judge and became a judge. Therefore, he will join the Democratic Party organization after only one year or so. Elections. Burrell exerted influence through Clay Davis and other Democratic leaders and prevented Faerlan from participating in fund-raising rallies organized by the Democratic Party, which made Faerlan's hope of seeking re-election increasingly diminished. In order to save his future, Phelan finally gave up his support for McNulty, which led to the task force's action has ended. There are many similar examples. In the fifth season (?) Ricky Davis was charged with corruption, bribery, and abuse of power. The case has been well documented, but Davis made a "Martin Luther King" style in court. After his speech, he successfully incited public sentiment, and the jury announced his acquittal.
In the play, the one that feels the least constrained is the news media. Due to the protection of a series of Supreme Court precedents such as the "Sullivan Case", the media dare to write almost anything and report anything. It's not that even Phelan said: "You never want to offend a person holding a pen full of ink" (to the effect), referring to reporters and media people. If there are any restrictions on the media, it is only the market. Under the impact of the Internet and other emerging media and self-media, the traditional newspaper and magazine industry has gradually declined, and some reporters and media professionals have begun to make up stories by unscrupulous means.
The rules are the highest, and no one can override the rules. The rules mentioned here include not only legal provisions, but also restrictions on habits, customs, and traditional concepts. All in all, they are a kind of culture. Rules and cultural constraints are not only in the United States, but also in China. Don’t you see, it’s better than the old M. In order to construct the ideal society he wants, he has spent hundreds of thousands of campaigns and paid tens of millions of people’s lives. What is the result? Once the body dies, society returns to its original orbit. What is left is a stale tradition (totalitarian in another name) and a place of chicken feathers.
Any society and any civilization has its traditional inertial potential. The older the civilization, the greater its inertia. Any drastic social change cannot bring about substantial changes and so-called progress. That said, it seems a bit conservatism. Although some views are similar to conservatism, I am not a conservative, let alone fear or oppose any innovations and changes naturally occurring in society. I believe that although tradition has its huge inertia and impulse, society itself also has its ability to adapt and evolve, as long as it is not completely suffocated and blocked (such as North Korea, any social spontaneous economic innovation and political innovation may be blocked. Death, civilization will stagnate or even regress), civilization will naturally find a way out for its continuation and development. What's more, today, science and technology and the economy are developing at a speed of tens of times or hundreds of times. Due to the emergence of new technologies, the public space has expanded to an unprecedented extent. , I remain cautiously optimistic. If you are lucky, it is not impossible to develop a completely new form of civilization. What we need to do is to study tradition, base ourselves on reality, encourage innovation, follow the trend, stay away from politics, and maintain the bottom line.
In his later years, Feng Youlan wrote a pair of couplets for self-encouragement. The couplet said: "Explain the old state to supplement the new life. It is extremely lucid and moderate." She said so well.
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