I am relaunching an expanded Hearsay Culture in 2021, and I’m super-excited about it. This year, however, has obviously started terribly. Aside from our out-of-control preventable pandemic, Wednesday’s events in Washington were devastating.

As you likely know, I’m a law professor at Elon University School of Law. While the violence was unfolding in DC, I felt compelled to email my 81 first-year law students, whom I met this past Monday, and will teach via Zoom as we began our study of Contracts.

I thought that some of you might be interested in an excerpt from my message:

At this hour, our country faces a violent crisis that we have not experienced since the end of the Civil War. We should all be horrified by these actions, regardless of political affiliation, as they go against our collective values as Americans, including the rule of law. 

As I’ve already said, the courts are the bulwark against chaos. . . . I encourage you to view today’s ongoing events in and around our Congressional buildings as the starkest illustration of the need for people willing to take on the sacred responsibility of promoting the rule of law. Although I cannot predict future events, I can assure you that attorneys and a functioning judiciary are the necessary prerequisites for restoring our country. The United States and all who look to the US for enlightened world leadership need you now, more than any time in living memory.

I am honored and privileged to help you achieve your noble goal of joining my chosen profession. See you on Zoom on Friday. Be safe and well, and be resolved.

I will see my students tomorrow, and may follow-up with their reactions. Meanwhile, thoughts on the above can be emailed to me at dave@hearsayculture.com.