Brian walked through the law department at Occidental University. He was on the third floor, looking for Kimberly Young’s office. When he found her office, he noticed that the door was closed and no one was inside. He looked at her schedule on the door and realized that she was teaching a class. Out of curiosity, Brian walked over to her classroom. The door was open, so he looked in and listened to what she was saying.

"Can someone please tell me the difference between human rights and individual rights?" asked the tall, thin, brown-haired professor.

Brian looked around the classroom. Most students were disinterested; a few were practically asleep. But a couple kids were attentive.

One student who had short blond hair and glasses raised his hand. He was impeccably dressed and looked like he should be attending Harvard University. He said, "Ah, individual rights are a myth. Human rights are what count. We need to advocate human rights for the good of society. After all, society is what must be protected, even at the expense of individuals if the situation warrants it."

Suddenly, the class woke up. Some students verbally agreed. Others looked at this young scholar with approval.

The blond-haired student continued confidently, "Yes, human rights protect humanity. And that is what law is supposed to protect, right? Society will not get anywhere until human rights are fully enforced. Forget about individual rights; they are selfish, immature, and restrict man’s autonomy. Besides, individual rights don’t consider society as a whole. What we need in America and the rest of the world is a rebirth of human rights!"

The students cheered. Everyone applauded except the professor. She looked at a point on the back wall. "Does anyone have a different view of human rights and individual rights?" asked the professor.

The class fell silent. Some students sank back into apathy. Professor Kimberly Young scanned the classroom. Nobody was willing to say anything. The class merely wanted to agree with the blond-haired student’s assertion.

Remembering the point on the back wall, Kimberly wheeled around 270 degrees and flung the chalk from her hand over the students’ heads, sending it crashing into the back wall where it shattered into pieces. The flying chalk that crashed into the back wall snapped the students out of mental lethargy. They sat straight up.

"Wake up, damn it!" hollered the professor, "What are you doing here if you aren’t interested in law? This class requires independent thinking—conscious thinking. Relying on clichés and good-sounding notions will not cut it. My job is to get you to think about rights and the law, to understand the fundamentals of law, how it’s formed, and how it’s properly applied. Proffering meaningless clichés such as ‘human rights are for the good of society’ or ‘individual rights restrict man’s autonomy’ is not the same as thinking rationally about law. Now, when you are ready to think—to reason with your own independent mind—come back here. Until then, this class is dismissed.

Some students scowled at the professor. Others mumbled obscenities. They gathered their belongings and slowly exited the classroom. The professor was the last to leave the room.

After the students left the room and while the professor was exiting, Brian asked, "Are you Kimberly Young?"

"Yes I am. Who are you?" inquired the professor.

"My name is Brian Storm. I learned about you through Christie Bridges. Can we go somewhere to talk?" Brian asked.

The professor remembered Christie Bridges and then said, "Of course. Let’s go to my office; it’s just down the hall."

The two walked side-by-side to Kimberly Young’s office. Inside, Kimberly sat behind her desk; Brian sat in a chair in front of the desk. The room was small, just big enough for a desk, a couple chairs, some bookshelves, and a small table in front of the window with a green plant sitting majestically on the table.

"If you’ll excuse me for a few moments, I have to get organized. I’ve been away from my desk all day and it’s a bit chaotic," Kimberly said.

Brian just observed her, watching her quickly, efficiently riffle bits of paper and notes into appropriate files. She wrote down some things and then threw away the remaining papers. Within no time, Kimberly Young’s desk was spotless, containing only her computer, telephone, and a banker’s lamp.

"Wow! You sure are organized. Sometime you can teach me your tricks for being so organized." Brian said smiling.

Kimberly smiled back, "I like you. Someday I’ll teach you a thing or two. Now, what do you want to see me about?"

"Well, uh, I don’t know how to say this." Brian said, striving for the right words.

"Say what?" Kimberly inquired.

"Oh, um, I have a…theory about the world…" Brian replied.

"You do? Interesting—let’s hear it." Kimberly said.

"Okay, here goes: my research and experience reveals that the older people become, the less happy they are. And the younger people are, the more happiness they have. I believe this is due to the world we live in—a bizarre world, one that enables the worst people to rise to the top of society while the best people are chained down. The best people, the producers—especially the most outstanding producers—are prevented from open-ended growth. So, my hypothesis holds that as people grow up, they implicitly understand these dynamics and realize the futility of today’s world. This and negative peer pressure cause them to give up on life, usually by the time they are young adults. And that surrendering of life to today’s futile world increasingly leaves everyone unfulfilled and unhappy." Brian stated carefully.

"Hmm. Tell me more." Kimberly said seriously.

"I’ve noticed throughout my life that children are happy, and so are young adults. But when they become full-fledged adults, they lose that overt happiness, that smiling, benevolent demeanor, that joyfulness toward life that seems natural for young kids not involved with the craziness of today’s world. As those happy spirits are brought into today’s political-and-religious world, they steadily lose their happiness and power. They seem to transmogrify into quasi automatons ruled by the leaders of today’s world. And I’m beginning to think that…" Brian was saying when he was interrupted.

"The leaders are using law to control people rather than protect them, right?" Kimberly said confidently.

Baffled, Brian asked, "How…how did you know what I was going to say?

"Oh, I’m no dumb cookie. I’ve been there and done that—before you were even born." Kimberly said.

"You must be in your early forties. I never would have guessed it." Brian commented.

"You got it." Kimberly said and then added, "I figured you were going to tie law into your theory since you did come to see me: a law professor."

"Actually, not really. I came to see you because Christie Bridges—you do know who she is I hope—told me something about you." Brian replied.

"Yes, she’s the author of Love of Freedom. That’s one of my favorite books. We’ve had her here to lecture a couple times about rights, law, and freedom. Her lectures are always popular at Occidental University. So what did she say about me?" the professor asked curiously.

"She said you were one of the few people on earth that understand the condition of the world today." Brian replied.

"And is that why you wanted to see me?" asked Kimberly.

"Right. Very few people are fully awake to reality. That leaves me with precious few people I can talk to about this subject. You are one of them. So I came to tell you about my theory in hopes of finding a solution." Brian said.

"I see." Kimberly replied.

"If parasitical leaders use law pragmatically to gain unearned advantages over productive citizens, then we must to stop them. As you probably are aware, the dishonest use of law serves to drain productive citizens while empowering parasitical leaders." Brian stated.

"Oh, I know all too well about that. When I try to teach this to my class, some students react as if I’m paranoid about a conspiracy. Others are simply disinterested; they say this has nothing to do with their careers. But it does affect their careers in a profound way that they don’t realize." Kimberly said.

"What happens when you tell adults? Do they listen?" asked Brian.

"Nope. Few really care. That’s why I was surprised to hear what you had to say. I didn’t expect you to be awake to the facts—to what’s really going on in the world." Kimberly said.

"Hmm. If people don’t want to listen to the condition of the world, and most don’t know what’s really going on, how the hell are we supposed to solve this problem that we both clearly see?" Brian asked.

"Good question. Unfortunately, I don’t have a workable answer to your question, nor does anyone else I know. However, I can help you out in the area of constitutional law. If you come up with a viable plan involving the constitution, I can show you how the amendment process works." Kimberly said.

"Great. At this point, I don’t know if we’ll need any constitutional amendments. But I’ll keep your expertise in mind. Now I’ve got to go do some work. Our meeting has really clarified my understanding of these issues. Thank you." Brian said as he got up to leave.

"Please, Mr. Storm, keep me posted about what you plan on doing. I’m definitely interested in what we discussed." Kimberly said congenially.

Brian smiled and extended his arm toward Kimberly. The two shook hands, exchanged smiles, and Brian headed out the door. Kimberly fell into her chair and began staring into space. She thought, "I’ve never met anyone with such enthusiasm about changing the world. I hope he knows what he’s doing. I hope he’s not acting on altruistic motives… Nah, he’s too bright for that. What a nice young man; I hope I see him again."