Let's Play
INTERPRET This LAW!
By Brietta Kiele
A lot of time, money, and effort is put into interpreting the law all the time. Let's see how we can do on it.
In each of the following, please choose the best interpretation. Only go by what the words actually say. Do not add meaning in where there are no words. If none of the choices appropriately represent exactly what the rule says, please write in your interpretation in the space provided.
Mom's Rules:
1. Don't hit
a. Don't hit the dog
b. Don't hit anyone with a stick
c. Don't hit anyone who might hit back
d. Don't hit anyone with anything
e.
2. Wash your hands before you eat
a. Wash your hands before you eat if they look dirty
b. Wash your hands before you eat meals (snacks don't apply)
c. Wash your hands before you eat
d. Wash your hands with anti-bacterial soap and hot water, and scrub them for 3 minutes before you eat
e.
3. Wipe your feet before walking through house
a. Wipe your feet before walking through the house if they have mud on them
b. Wipe your feet on the mat before going through the house if the carpet was just shampooed
c. Wipe your feet before going through the house if you have time
d. Wipe your feet before going through the house
e.
4. Don't eat in your room
a. Don't eat messy things in your room
b. Don't eat anything in your room ever
c. Eat in the kitchen
d. Eat with the family
e.
5. Finish your homework before you play
a. Do some homework before you play even on the weekend when you don't have any
b. Finish all of the homework for the week before you play ball
c. Finish all of the homework you currently have before you play
d. Help your sister finish her homework before you play.
e.
6. Brush your teeth before you go to bed
a. Brush your teeth sometime before you go to bed
b. Brush your teeth for two minutes with Crest toothpaste before you go to bed
c. Brush your teeth immediately before you go to bed
d. Brush your teeth with a toothbrush before you go to bed
e.
7. Feed the dog before you eat breakfast
a. Feed the dog before you eat each meal
b. Feed the dog DOG food before you eat breakfast
c. Feed neighbor's dog before 10:00 each morning
d. Feed the dog (whatever dog that may be) before you eat breakfast
e.
MY THOUGHTS:
While we can all guess what the intent of the author of the rules was, only the author really knows. The only thing we can do is take the author at her word and believe that she put thought into the writing of her rules.
It would get you in big trouble if you chose to eat in your room just because you weren't eating messy food in there. It is not your business to interpret Mom's reasons for her rules. It is your job to follow them.
Technically, rule 6 does not say that you must brush your teeth before you go to bed each day. It only says that you must brush your teeth before you go to bed. If you brushed your teeth yesterday, you brushed your teeth before you went to bed tonight.
Technically, rule number seven does not require that you feed the dog if you don't eat breakfast.
Thankfully, in the case of Mom's Rules, the mother who wrote them is usually close by to clarify any confusion or misinterpretation. This is why she wouldn't spell everything out completely. Also, she may waive a rule whenever she sees fit. Also, Mom's Rules only apply to her children as long as they are children or whenever they are under her roof.
But when laws are written in our government, they are meant to be lasting, not only for a few people as long as they are minors (approximately 18 years), but for ALL the people for all time, for every generation. For this reason, lawmakers are as specific as possible in their words. Also, they will often give definitions of the words they use.
It is the lawmakers' job to say exactly what they mean in the laws and it is our job to not read things into the laws that they write that are not there. Most laws are debated and worked on over a significant period of time; they did not haphazardly vote in a half-baked idea as law.
If for any reason, we believe that the law is not well-written and should be changed, we can do that by debating it, writing it, and voting on it. But we cannot go forward by simply saying that the previous lawmakers didn't write the law the way they meant to.
INTERPRET This LAW!
By Brietta Kiele
A lot of time, money, and effort is put into interpreting the law all the time. Let's see how we can do on it.
In each of the following, please choose the best interpretation. Only go by what the words actually say. Do not add meaning in where there are no words. If none of the choices appropriately represent exactly what the rule says, please write in your interpretation in the space provided.
Mom's Rules:
1. Don't hit
a. Don't hit the dog
b. Don't hit anyone with a stick
c. Don't hit anyone who might hit back
d. Don't hit anyone with anything
e.
2. Wash your hands before you eat
a. Wash your hands before you eat if they look dirty
b. Wash your hands before you eat meals (snacks don't apply)
c. Wash your hands before you eat
d. Wash your hands with anti-bacterial soap and hot water, and scrub them for 3 minutes before you eat
e.
3. Wipe your feet before walking through house
a. Wipe your feet before walking through the house if they have mud on them
b. Wipe your feet on the mat before going through the house if the carpet was just shampooed
c. Wipe your feet before going through the house if you have time
d. Wipe your feet before going through the house
e.
4. Don't eat in your room
a. Don't eat messy things in your room
b. Don't eat anything in your room ever
c. Eat in the kitchen
d. Eat with the family
e.
5. Finish your homework before you play
a. Do some homework before you play even on the weekend when you don't have any
b. Finish all of the homework for the week before you play ball
c. Finish all of the homework you currently have before you play
d. Help your sister finish her homework before you play.
e.
6. Brush your teeth before you go to bed
a. Brush your teeth sometime before you go to bed
b. Brush your teeth for two minutes with Crest toothpaste before you go to bed
c. Brush your teeth immediately before you go to bed
d. Brush your teeth with a toothbrush before you go to bed
e.
7. Feed the dog before you eat breakfast
a. Feed the dog before you eat each meal
b. Feed the dog DOG food before you eat breakfast
c. Feed neighbor's dog before 10:00 each morning
d. Feed the dog (whatever dog that may be) before you eat breakfast
e.
MY THOUGHTS:
While we can all guess what the intent of the author of the rules was, only the author really knows. The only thing we can do is take the author at her word and believe that she put thought into the writing of her rules.
It would get you in big trouble if you chose to eat in your room just because you weren't eating messy food in there. It is not your business to interpret Mom's reasons for her rules. It is your job to follow them.
Technically, rule 6 does not say that you must brush your teeth before you go to bed each day. It only says that you must brush your teeth before you go to bed. If you brushed your teeth yesterday, you brushed your teeth before you went to bed tonight.
Technically, rule number seven does not require that you feed the dog if you don't eat breakfast.
Thankfully, in the case of Mom's Rules, the mother who wrote them is usually close by to clarify any confusion or misinterpretation. This is why she wouldn't spell everything out completely. Also, she may waive a rule whenever she sees fit. Also, Mom's Rules only apply to her children as long as they are children or whenever they are under her roof.
But when laws are written in our government, they are meant to be lasting, not only for a few people as long as they are minors (approximately 18 years), but for ALL the people for all time, for every generation. For this reason, lawmakers are as specific as possible in their words. Also, they will often give definitions of the words they use.
It is the lawmakers' job to say exactly what they mean in the laws and it is our job to not read things into the laws that they write that are not there. Most laws are debated and worked on over a significant period of time; they did not haphazardly vote in a half-baked idea as law.
If for any reason, we believe that the law is not well-written and should be changed, we can do that by debating it, writing it, and voting on it. But we cannot go forward by simply saying that the previous lawmakers didn't write the law the way they meant to.
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