We know that we cannot live together without rules which tell us

Hear the voice of Robert Kennedy, who in an hour of turmoil declared: “We know that we cannot live together without rules which tell us what is right and what is wrong, what is permitted and what is prohibited. We know that it is law which enables men to live together, that creates order out of chaos. We know that law is the glue that holds civilization together.” These words are not mere instructions for government, but a cry from the deep wells of history, for without the guidance of law, human society dissolves into discord, and without order, freedom itself perishes.

The origin of this truth lies in the dawn of civilization. When men first gathered into tribes and cities, conflict arose—over land, over honor, over power. Without rule or measure, the strong preyed upon the weak, and the world became a battlefield of endless feuds. But when men bound themselves to rules—to what is right, to what is wrong—then they began to live not as beasts but as citizens. From Hammurabi’s code etched in stone, to the laws of Solon in Athens, to the tablets of Moses, law became the shield of the weak and the boundary of the strong. Kennedy speaks here with the wisdom of the ancients, that law is the glue that holds civilization together.

Consider the tale of Rome. At its heart was not only the sword of its legions, but the system of Roman law, built upon principles of justice, contracts, and rights. When Rome honored its laws, it prospered; when it abandoned them to the whims of tyrants, it began to crumble. For without law, power becomes arbitrary, and without order, society collapses into chaos. Kennedy, who lived in an age scarred by assassinations and riots, knew this truth well: that law, though imperfect, was the vessel through which civilization endures.

Yet Kennedy also knew that law must not be worshipped blindly. For law can be corrupted; it can be bent into a tool of oppression rather than freedom. Segregation itself was once upheld by law, until it was challenged and transformed by those who demanded that law serve justice, not injustice. Thus his words remind us that law must not only bind men together, but must do so in the service of what is right. It is not the existence of rules alone, but their alignment with truth, that makes law the guardian of order and not the weapon of tyranny.

History gives us another mirror in the story of South Africa. For years, apartheid was law, but it was a law of oppression, tearing society into fragments. Yet when Nelson Mandela and others fought to transform the system, they did not seek to destroy law itself, but to renew it. For they understood that it was not the idea of law that was corrupt, but its misuse. When law was reshaped to honor equality, it once more became the glue of society, binding together what had long been torn apart.

The lesson, then, is clear: cherish law, but demand that it serve justice. Recognize that order is not the enemy of freedom, but its foundation. A society without law is like a ship without a rudder, drifting until it breaks apart upon the rocks. But a society with unjust law is like a rudder that steers into storms. We must therefore guard not only the presence of rules, but their integrity, their fairness, their ability to bind men together in peace rather than divide them in hatred.

Therefore, O listener, carry this wisdom into your life. Respect the rules that make community possible—whether in your family, your work, or your nation. Do not despise order, for it shields you. But do not accept injustice, even when it wears the robes of legality. Work always to refine law, to bring it closer to justice, so that it may truly be the glue of civilization. For if law is corrupted, chaos returns; but if law is righteous, then even in the face of trial, civilization stands firm.

So remember Robert Kennedy’s words: without law, there is chaos; without just law, there is tyranny. The task of every generation is not only to preserve law, but to perfect it. Only then can civilization endure, bound not by fear, but by justice, and guided not by force, but by truth.