I was nine years old when I learned something that, I knew at the time, would lead me to law school one day.
My parents always initiated thought-provoking conversation when I was young, but one day a specific conversation changed the course of my life. I’ll never forget it.
My father came in the room with the newspaper and said “Honey, you’ve got to understand this concept”, and then he read an article to me about Rosa Parks, the African American woman from Selma, Alabama who refused to sit on the back of the bus. He explained, sometimes it’s okay to break bad laws.
The ensuing conversation about how our laws change to reflect changes in society started a lifelong interest in the study of ethics and the law. Throughout my studies and still today, I hear my father’s voice asking “Is it the RIGHT thing to do?” because sometimes the law gets it wrong.
Although my father died when I was still a teenager, this lesson instilled a perpetual conscience in me that transcends the question “what is legal?” You must also ask, “is it right?”
If I still don’t have a good answer, I ask “what would Dad do?”
Lisa Blackstone, Esq.
