Reason: Many problems of modern society cannot be solved by laws and the legal system.Reason: Laws cannot change what is in people’s hearts or minds. Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the claim and the

The Code of Hammurabi, written and well-preserved code of law in the ancient Mesopotamia , is one of the first forms of law regulating the government and maintaining the societal order. Litigious regulation has been in existence for millennia to help sovereignty control and maintain the equilibrium and forestall any potential turmoil in society. What is indicated at the thrust of the claim is that a litany of problems of contemporary society cannot be ironed out by laws and the legal system, the premise of which is predicated on the reason that people’s beliefs, deeply entrenched in their hearts and minds, cannot be readily changed. Many might contend that such a claim is argumentatively tenuous since legal systems, superimposed at the top tier of a country’s regulation, should be regarded as sacrosanct, and that people under the regulation should abide by laws, irregardless of their minds and hearts, and that an array of problems in society can be solved. However, the antithesis of such reasoning holds more truth, and generally, I concur with the reason employed to substantiate the veracity of the claim.

First and foremost, granted that the importance of legal systems should not be soft-pedaled. Were legal systems abolished, modern society might regress into the state of anarchy, in which disorder would reign and social justice might be compromised. The modern civilization has witnessed a sophisticated and convoluted progression and advancement. Were lawlessness to prevail, would not priceless virtues that human beings have striven over the past few centuries be entirely wasted? Our world would disintegrate into a place where pillaging others’ properties were brooked, massacring tolerated, and immoral behaviors, such as chicanery and appropriation, countenanced. Legal systems, to modern society, are of paramount importance. They help us move forward smoothly and bring forth the utmost prosperity. Tax laws across the globe generally indicate that those well-heeled should apportion more of their wealth to the government, while the poor could pay less. This kind of systematized regulation helps the society achieve equality and boom.

However, many a problem of modern society cannot be solved by laws, partly because people have certain prepackaged sets of mindset that cannot be easily altered by legal systems. Take same-sex marriage. Same-sex marriage has been regarded as one of the most contentious issues of the twenty-first century, given that some apologists of same-sex marriage hold that marriage is one of the most fundamental civil rights and that the homosexual should not be bereaved of the right to get married. Those who demur to same-sex marriage would asseverate that this form of marriage violates the century-long form of what a family constitutes and also the decree of certain religious beliefs. In 2005, the Supreme Court in the United States officially legalized the same-sex marriage, the passing of which, however, witnesses a more severe tug-of-war between supporters and oppositionists. Even though the Supreme Court passed the same-sex marriage, the reportage of bullying and discriminating same-sex families still pervade. One recent incident in Colorado pertinent to a homosexual couple refused for a wedding cake by a cake baker who claimed to adhere to his religion belief points out that the underlying problem of how much controversy same-sex and homosexuality has invoked. Although the ruling of this case by Supreme Court recently was in favor of the cake baker, stating that the baker enjoyed freedom of expression under the amendment of U.S. Constitution, the decision certainly has stirred much outcry and social commotion. This incident is a microcosm of a lager tension between beliefs, litigation, and other social values that we human beings have been embracing.

Another aspect that corroborates the truthfulness of the claim and its reason is that although enacting laws can dictate people’s behaviors and boost people’s conscience about rights and wrongs, laws cannot certainly enforce change in people’s hearts and minds. People can certainly abide by laws without having to believe in what laws dictate. Besides, the discussion can be complicated by the fact that people’s minds are mercurial and their appraisal changes on the basis of different circumstances. For instance, in the antediluvian time of human civilization, provided that a person committed homicide, then according to Code of Hammurabi, the perpetrator would have to be punished in proper accordance with the pain that he or she afflicted on the victim: the so-called tit-for-tat. He or she might therefore be sentenced with death penalty. The matter was straightforward. However, in modern time, people who engage in homicide might not be penalized with such extreme punishment. The law might consider that the accused should be condoned on the basis that they are deeply regretful of their act or that they kill people for self-defense. The perpetrator might be exculpated. However, the complexity of the issue does not just stop here because the victim’s family might at the same time aim to seek for legal retaliation, thus appealing the verdict. Another example is that recently, president of the United States was adamant about repealing the order that the transgendered cannot serve in the U.S. military, a decision that immediately sparked much controversy and debate. President of the United States believed that having the transgendered in the military would exert much strain on the financial condition of the military service; however, after consulting with many more authorities concerned and military leaders, the president decided to gave up passing such a law, but the contention of this problem still lingers. Since people’s minds and hearts change constantly, there is no way for laws to accommodate that part of capriciousness that human beings showcase.

All told, although legal systems have efficaciously obliterated many problems that we human beings encounter in lives, nonetheless, many more problems and outstanding issues may still remain unresolved and keep plaguing us in that people’s hearts and minds about such issues cannot be altered with ease. It is so because the condition of the present-day issues is more complicated than that of previous times and because laws, as an external form of regulation, cannot really impose any sort of internal changes onto people’s minds and hearts.