“If you feel you have the right to use force against me, show it for what it is. Bring guns.”

I spend a lot of time talking to people about law on a regular basis, and one of the questions that consistently comes up is some variant of “Can I be forced to agree to _____?”  Too many people think that you can, and end up assisting in their own victimization.  So let’s lay this out for the benefit of those who would think they can be forced to agree to something, and more importantly for those who think they can force other people to “agree” to things.

There is no such thing as a coerced agreement.  Consent and coercion are opposites.

Let’s imagine a scenario.  Someone comes up to you and asks you to sign a document giving them permission to withdraw all your money from your bank account.  They offer you nothing in return, but ask very nicely and say that it will make their life so much better.  Would you sign it?  Unless you were feeling exceptionally generous, of course you wouldn’t.  And you aren’t required to.  You have the inherent right to decide which agreements you will enter and which you will not.  Would you be SOL if you did and wanted your money back later?  Absolutely.  You knew what you were doing, you intended to give the person all your money, and it was entirely voluntary on your part.

Now let’s say now someone comes up to you with a gun, holds it to your head, demands that you give them all the money in your wallet, and says if you don’t they’ll blow your brains out all over the alleyway.  Would you give them your money?  Unless you’re a fool (or bulletproof), yes.  Assuming they’re not bluffing (which is a dangerous assumption to make when a person’s holding a gun to your head), they don’t need your agreement–if you refuse, they’ll take your money anyway.

Things tend to get murky in this area when the threat isn’t “Your money or your life” but “Sign this agreement or I’ll do X” and X isn’t something illegal.  “Sign this Non-compete Agreement or we’ll have to let you go.”  “Agree to this settlement or we’ll sue.”  “Take this plea bargain or we’ll prosecute you for the other crimes we caught you committing.”  If you refuse to sign the Non-compete Agreement, you may lose your job.  But that’s your choice–if you value your freedom to compete more than you value your job, you can make that choice.  If you agree to the settlement, you avoid the possibility of a lawsuit at the cost of the terms of the agreement.  That’s your choice.  If pleading out to a charge you might want to fight is worth it to you to avoid getting prosecuted for lots of other crimes, that’s your choice.  These situations feel forced, but they’re not.  You have the right to choose in every situation, and it may be unpleasant to have to choose between things you value, but they are always voluntary choices.

This is the principle by which to evaluate requests or demands to “agree” to things in life.  If someone is asking for your voluntary agreement, you can refuse.  If it’s a valid request, you may have to choose whether to agree, and that choice may be costly or it may not.  But if someone is saying you have to do something, they can make you do it without your consent.

Don’t give them the satisfaction of going along with their show.  If they think they have the right to force you to do something, hold them to their threat.  In many cases, threats are a bluff, and calling them will leave you much better off.  If it’s not a bluff, and they really can force you, don’t assist in your own victimization.  If they’re going to screw you, make them do the paperwork.  You’d be surprised how often making people admit that they’re trying to force you renders their threats empty and sends them scurrying for cover.

Law affects everyone. Everyone should be able to understand it.

How much does the law affect your daily life?  If you’re like most people, your initial thought will probably be “Not all that much.”  So let’s take a walk through your average day and consider this thought.

So, it’s early, and you’re just waking up.  Let’s see.  The mattress you’re laying on probably has a tag on it which ominously threatens to penalize anyone “except the consumer” (that is, you) for removing it; that tag tells you things like what the mattress is stuffed with, whether it’s recycled materials, etc.  It may or may not meet fire protection standards, depending on where you bought it.  The house or apartment you live in was built according to building codes in the town or city that you live in.  Its very location has to comply with local zoning rules.  The electrical wiring, plumbing, and heating and air conditioning all have to be up to spec before it can be lived in.  If you’re renting, the lease has certain terms and conditions, all of which are governed by your state’s real property and landlord/tenant law.  If you’re buying, you’ve got a slew of laws that control every aspect of the financing, titling, taxes, insurance, and everything else that anyone who’s bought a house has gone through.  For all of these things, there’s some agency, board, or commission which makes sure the laws which apply are followed and that people and companies who break them suffer the consequences.  You haven’t even gotten out of bed yet, and there’s countless laws already affecting your life.

This is the world that we live in.  When most people think of the law, they think of criminal laws, taxes, lawsuits, speeding tickets, and the like.  They don’t think of the laws and regulations that make sure their toothpaste doesn’t kill them, or that the power adapter for their laptop doesn’t burst into flame and burn down their house.  They don’t think of the fact that in the United States alone, there are hundreds of millions of statutes, rules, regulations, court decisions, and binding opinions that play a role in making sure our day to day lives are safe and convenient.

Given this state of affairs, it isn’t surprising that an entire industry of information specialists–lawyers–has grown up to help people understand it.  There’s nothing inherently wrong about going to a professional when you really need one.  But the law shouldn’t be so complex that you need a specialist for every little thing.  Basic issues should be understandable, and most importantly should be able to be applied, by anyone.  The law affects everyone.  Everyone should be able to understand it.

Fortunately for people today, gone are the days when a law office with a library of case reporters and statute books was the only way to get an accurate understanding of the law.  Most laws now are available online, and there is a fabulous wealth of resources available.  Anyone who knows where to look and what to look for can find what they need with no more investment than the time it takes to look.  Make no mistake, law is a complicated subject.  It takes study and practice to really get good at it.  But the Internet has opened the door to getting that understanding.  Law school is good, but law is quite literally accessible to all–as long as you learn how to find and read it.

That’s my goal with this blog–to teach people how to find, understand, and apply the law on their own.  I’m not an attorney myself.  I didn’t go to law school.  But I do understand how the law works, and apply that understanding daily.  I gained that understanding entirely through self-teaching, and the generous sharing of knowledge by people who supported my goals, and so can you.  I say this not to toot my own proverbial horn, but as proof that it’s possible to use the Internet, reading, and simple time, combined with occasional guidance from professionals when necessary, to “reverse engineer” the law using completely open sources.  As long as you’re willing to do it, you can add an understanding of how the system works to your life.

It’s impossible in advance to tell you how you’ll apply this knowledge.  Like all new skills, the better you get, the more uses you’ll find for it.  What I can tell you is that the ability to understand and apply law without having to pay an attorney is an exceedingly-valuable skill.  If you’re here, welcome.  I hope you enjoy the journey to understanding as much as I have.