Speech by Richard Garriott as New President of Virginia Bar Association
以下是理查德·加略特在1月26日当选弗吉尼亚州律师协会主席时发表的讲话, 2019:
“The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.五千年来，《皇冠线上买球平台》第二部中屠夫迪克的这句臭名昭著的话一直被用来取笑我们的职业. However, 莎士比亚并不是在评论律师的邪恶，而是称赞我们是法治和基本自由的保护者.
屠夫迪克是一个虚构的人物，而与他对话的杰克·卡德斯却是真实存在的. In 1450 Cades led a rebellion against King Henry VI. In his rebellion, Cades just like Wat Tyler, in The Peasant’s revolt, which took place 80 years earlier, targeted the legal profession, and more importantly the Courts, for destruction. 两次叛乱都以法治为目标，因为这是他们夺取权力的途径.
莎士比亚知道，民粹主义起义只有摧毁法治和维护英国自由的制度才能成功. This quote, 《皇冠搏彩APP下载》提醒我们，律师有特殊的义务警惕对自由和自由的威胁.
Both the Peasants’ and Jack Cades’ Revolts ultimately failed. However, 历史一次又一次地告诉我们，当民粹主义压倒一个社会时，可能会产生严重的后果. In The 1780s when the French populist overthrew the Capetion Dynasty, 公共安全委员会做的第一件事就是摧毁皇家法院和皇家法律体系. 通过摧毁这些机构，他们能够完全控制并建立恐怖统治的大屠杀.
In the 20th 贝尼托·墨索里尼和阿道夫·希特勒都是在选民被民粹主义的兴起和对新领导人的渴望所吸引的情况下上台的. Once in power, both these dictators quickly ignored, and destroyed, democratic institutions in both Italy and Germany. 随之而来的是法西斯主义在欧洲的兴起，并最终导致了第二次世界大战的灾难.
Populism has historically been a precursor to authoritarianism. 就像20世纪30年代的欧洲一样，今天的威权领导人是在民粹主义浪潮中上台的. 这种情况正在委内瑞拉、秘鲁、土耳其、匈牙利、波兰和巴西发生. In the United States, 传统上，我们的制度限制了可能成为威权主义者的民粹主义领导人的影响. 在过去，我们几乎看到我们的制度被抛到一边. However, the guardrails of democracy have always traditionally held.
Today, we live in very frightening times. Tribalism in our country has become rampant. 左翼和右翼的领导人都质疑宪法，这似乎很正常, the Courts, 以及负责维护正义的行政部门. 一旦拆除保护我们自由的护栏成为常态, we will be on a path to complete self-destruction. 这就是为什么作为弗吉尼亚州的律师，我们有义务站出来，不断呼吁保护法治，以及保护和滋养法治的机构.
Throughout our nation’s history, 弗吉尼亚州的律师们一直在确保我们的民主制度强大和保护我们的祖先辛辛苦苦赋予我们的自由方面发挥着带头作用. 而不是呼吁结束英国的普通法和保护法治的法律体系, 是弗吉尼亚州的律师帕特里克·亨利和托马斯·杰斐逊用法治和民主制度向世界证明我们已经准备好了, willing, and able to stand on our own against the greatest power on earth.
During our fledgling Republic, Virginia lawyer John Marshall set the precedent that our judiciary was, in fact, independent, and enshrined in our democratic system that the judiciary was, and is, a coequal branch of government.
It was Norfolk’s first female lawyer, Pauline Adams, 谁帮助领导了争取妇女选举权的斗争，让我们不要忘记奥利弗·希尔和斯波茨伍德·罗宾逊的巨大贡献，他们利用法庭确保了所有弗吉尼亚人不分种族的公民权利，结束了吉姆·克劳的可耻时代.
所有这些弗吉尼亚州的律师都利用法治帮助我们的民主发展和繁荣. Each of them lost many of the battles they fought, but in doing so they did not question our judiciary as an institution. 他们的行动确保了在巨大变革时期保护我们权利的护栏依然牢固.
Today our democracy is facing serious threats from all sides. Politicians call for violence against their opponents, they use fear to justify ignoring due process, there is political violence in the streets, 普通公民质疑我们民主制度的完整性. If we are going to preserve these hard fought freedoms, Virginia Lawyers, 这个协会必须站起来，呼吁在我们的公共话语中保持理智. 弗吉尼亚州的律师有一项特殊的义务，通过我们的行动和语言来表明，你不必憎恨与你意见不同的人, 你们可以求同存异，同时保持文明，尊重彼此和他们的不同观点.
131年来，弗吉尼亚律师协会一直是弗吉尼亚律师的独立代言人. When the VBA spoke, people have listened and acted. When the Bar Association remained silent, that silence was thunderous. Never before has the mission of the VBA been more vital. All of us, 无论我们的政治哲学如何，现在都应该接过我们的前辈们心甘情愿接过的衣钵, 无论是作为个人还是作为一个协会，我们都必须倡导我们民主制度的重要性. 我请你们每个人拿起十年前发布的《皇冠搏彩APP下载》来读一读, use it, and encourage others to follow it as well. Only when we lead, will others follow. Thank you.