Author Michael G. Merhige Says the Law Should Not Be Society’s Principal Moral Instrument in Thoughtful Pauses

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Author Michael G. Merhige Says the Law Should Not
Be Societys Principal Moral Instrument in
Thoughtful Pauses
(1888 PressRelease) Former military and CIA
officer claims society is at risk when the law
exclusively determines right and wrong. MIAMI
When the law solely itself, and not convention or
ones moral compass, determines what is right or
wrong, Michael G. Merhige fears the risks become
inherent. Thereafter, whatever the powers choose
to define is legal, society is left only to
accept. What results is that the law allows one
to break many of the rules society finds
unacceptable, behooving the governed to
understand that legal is not always right nor
right always legal. Instead, in Thoughtful
Pauses, Merhige argues that societys convention
should be included to impose the guidelines, not
exclusively the law, based upon conscience and
mores of behavior, which are the principles that
keep most of society civilized. He believes the
law should be a reflection of society and not the
driving force. Otherwise, the assumption is that
conscience, that right or wrong, is exclusively
the prerogative of a select legal entity. And
ethics takes a back seat. When right or wrong,
good or bad, are decided only in a vacuum by law,
it becomes a weapon for abuse and power, not for
justice, explains Merhige. Like French
politician Frederic Bastiat wrote, the law is
more beneficial when employed as a last resort
than as a panacea for societal control. Not to
be ignored, conscience and convention also play
their vital roles. Merhige knows that elements
of his book will not find favor with everyone he
hopes to tweak readers interest about the role
and function of government, the law, and society.
Thoughtful Pauses can be purchased online
through Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other
retailers. For more information about the book,
visit www.ThoughtfulPauses.com.
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About the Author Michael G. Merhige played
semi-pro high school baseball in the Ben Johnson
League for two summers in Kansas. He received a
scholarship to the University of Alabama as a
baseball letterman. He served in the US Army as
an officer attached to the Navy and Marine Corps
during the Cuban Missile Crisis in the Caribbean.
He was also a CIA officer in the Far East
(official cover) and in South America
(non-official cover). He retired as a Corporate
Development Executive in private industry. He now
resides in Miami, Florida.