The Patriot Post® · Wednesday Opinion

Best of Right Opinion

• Rebecca Hagelin: The Victimization of America’s Children
• Walter Williams: Moral Values and Customs vs. Laws
• Michelle Malkin: Still Dawdling Over Deadly Diversity Visas
• Byron York: Former Top Spy Rethinks Attacks on New President
• Star Parker: Let’s Liberate Blacks From Left-Wing Politics

For more of today’s columns, visit Right Opinion.

Opinion in Brief

Walter Williams: “Society’s first line of defense is not the law but customs, traditions and moral values. Customs, traditions and moral values are those important thou-shalt-nots, such as thou shalt not murder, shalt not steal, shalt not lie and shalt not cheat. They also include respect for parents, teachers and others in authority, plus those courtesies one might read in Emily Post’s rules of etiquette. These behavioral norms — mostly transmitted by example, word of mouth and religious teachings — represent a body of wisdom distilled over the ages through experience, trial and error, and looking at what works and what doesn’t. The importance of customs, traditions and moral values as a means of regulating behavior is that people behave themselves even if nobody’s watching. There are not enough cops. Laws can never replace these restraints on personal conduct in producing a civilized society. At best, the police and the criminal justice system are the last desperate lines of defense for a civilized society. Unfortunately, customs, traditions and moral values have been discarded without an appreciation for the role they played in creating a civilized society, and now we’re paying the price — and that includes the recent revelations regarding the treatment of women.”