As is usual this time of year, I get a little (okay, a lot) behind in my blog reading, so I only ran across this post by Bruce Schneier. While the subject of his post is the Patriot Act, and while I disagree with some of his opinions on the Act, he makes some very good points about laws in general which bear repeating:

Most laws don't matter when we all trust each other. Contracts are rarely if ever looked at if the parties trust each other. The whole point of laws and contracts is to protect us when the parties don't trust each other. It's not enough that [an op-ed author who believes there have been any abuses under the Patriot Act], and everyone else with this opinion, trusts the Bush government to judiciously balance his rights with the need to fight global terrorism. This guy has to believe that when the Democrats are in power that his rights are just as protected: that he is just as secure against police and government abuse.

Because that's how you should think about laws, contracts, and government power. When reading through a contract, don't think about how much you like the other person who's signing it; imagine how the contract will protect you if you become enemies. When thinking about a law, imagine how it will protect you when your worst nightmare — Hillary Clinton as President, Janet Reno as Attorney General, Howard Dean as something-or-other, and a Democratic Senate and House — is in power.

Laws and contracts are not written for one political party, or for one side. They're written for everybody. History teaches us this lesson again and again. In the United States, the Bill of Rights was opposed on the grounds that it wasn't necessary; the Alien and Sedition Act of 1798 proved that it was, only nine years later.

It makes no sense to me that this is a partisan issue.

This is a very good point that people in general, and legislators in particular, need to bear in mind when they're currently in the majority and crafting laws and rules. I have no illusions about this actually happening, of course. The things politicians have to do to get elected tends to weed out thoughtful, fair-minded people. And that's a shame.