Maritime Law

Spencer Dutton. "I am in your debt."
Ship's Captain. "You're in no such thing. I think perhaps the sea is the last place where men do the right thing for that reason alone."
Spencer Dutton. "Maybe the whole world should be put to sea.
Ship's Captain. "The whole world would drown."
The Rule of 500, The Television Series, 1923.

For someone who is not a fan of watching ‘Wild West’ movies and television shows, I recently saddled up my horse for a new kind of adventure. Don’t get me wrong. I am accustomed to indoor plumbing, electricity, and cars with power windows and air conditioning. I do not want to spend any time in the early 1900s. Nevertheless, this series has hit a chord in so many ways. The script demands that we think about how things were in that era and compare that to how things are today.

When the opening quote hit my consciousness, I stopped the episode as thoughts of our circumstances today rang bells. After a bit of research, I discovered that the quote isn’t entirely true. Since Phoenician times, it’s been commonly understood that ships are to aid distressed vessels and survivors at sea. This was codified with treaties in the 16th Century.

My research was centered on questioning the voluntary insinuation of the quote. I was specifically interested in men doing “the right thing for that reason alone.” Because there existed this ancient ‘understanding’ to provide aid, it means that saving lives and ships might not be so voluntary after all.

I did not want to discover that. I wanted to believe that men do, at times, serve others because it is the right thing to do. I still wish that to be true.

But, based on what I am seeing, we are developing a mindset that tells us to preserve our rights (whatever that means to each of us) first and if that causes harm to another, well, it’s just the will of the land. In the '1923 TV series, this is similarly proclaimed, “The whole world will drown.”

I appreciate the stated wish, "Maybe the whole world should be put to sea." Mr. Dutton reflects a dream for humanity that would mean, even metaphorically, that we come to the aid of ships that are sinking and people that are drowning.

The cynical reply brings us back to reality, however. It would appear valid that the "whole world would drown," for we live on the land. We often turn our backs to those in trouble when walking on terra firma. We toss people to their resources with expressions like:

• Pull yourself up by your bootstraps.
• Make your own luck.
• Get your act together.
• Take the bull by the horns.
• Make do with what you have.
• Forge your own path.
• And lately, I hear, "Go back where you came from" as well.

We fail to see the difference between drowning at sea and drowning on land. When someone is in dire straits, they're in dire straits - no matter the physical manifestation of liquid or solid. But we are given no ancient understandings, no codified treaties, nor do we have any congressionally approved laws that tell us what we should do on acreage.

However, if we recognize the option, we are enjoined to "do the right thing for that reason alone." We note these ancient ‘suggestions’ found in Romans 12.

• "Share with the Lord's people who are in need. Practice hospitality"
• "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink"

It seems clear that we currently have ample opportunities to save landlubbers drowning in our world today. If time, distance, or fear keep us from diving into the deep end, at least maybe, we could find a deserving non-profit to act in our name.