The ongoing squabble between the Liberian National Legislature and the National Bar Association is one to interest us students and observers of history. Liberia today can be likened to a country without a leader; and this comparison would in no wise way be faulty judgment considering the issues that are at stake today. Amidst this acute mess the country has been plunged into, it is somewhat impulsive to endeavor and investigate why things are as they are. Why has Liberia degenerated from noble to ignoble?

Many reason abound, but most importantly, the character of this new band of self-made lawmakers that has permeated the once venerable National Legislature. We want to question their learning, their morals, their consciousness, their values, and their philosophy. Who are these people that judge, who are these people that threaten, that assign noble men to prison and; if I may slightly alter Aristotle's popular quote, who are these people who "Continue to sin against humanity?"

Recent reports speak of a boycott of court sessions by the National Bar Association. This silent protest and proportional response on the part of the National Bar is decisive. Guns and all these other ferocious machinery that evil men institute to threaten democracy and her adherents do not really serve the purpose. In a way, yes, they exterminate the frail bodies that host these noble people, but their spirit is untouched and their message evaporates far and wide and soars in the conscience of the enlightened student community.

I hail members of the National Bar for their recent stance toward tyranny and ignorance and a mockery of the Legislature. Are there more good men and women like these?

Against this backdrop, the character of this new band of self-made lawmakers that has permeated the once venerable National Legislature should be called into question. We want to question their learning, their morals, their consciousness, their values, and their philosophy. Who are these people that judge, who are these people that threaten, that assign noble men to prison and.

These are men who in 1989, invaded the country, killed, maimed and looted under the pretext of annihilating an oppressive system. As they moved on the country there were others who were already on their way to extinction, and saw it as an opportunity to amass wealth and secure a seat in the junta that was coming into existence. These are the people that judge today. There are also some who, following a "form of elections" in July 1997, assumed power, which they could not have sniffed even in a million years. These are the people that rule, incarcerate and operate under the illusion that they are endow with power to repress their fellowman and continue to ruin our country.