COLUMN
BY FRANCIS ADEWALE
“The trouble with Eichmann was precisely that so many were like him, and that the many were neither perverted nor sadistic, that they were, and still are, terribly and terrifyingly normal. From the viewpoint of our legal institutions and of our moral standards of judgment, this normality was much more terrifying than all the atrocities put together. …”11 Hannah Arendt, Eichman in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil. New York: Penguin Books, 1994, pages 22, 25-26, 135, 276-279.
— Hannah Arendt
Robert Penn Warren once remarked that being an American is not “a matter of blood; it is a matter of an idea—and history is the image of that idea.”22 John Burt, Robert Penn Warren and American Idealism. Yale University Press, 1988, page 260. Accessed 6/17/26 at www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1dszw0f. A hefty body of literature focuses on the dichotomy between American ideals and American realities. As we celebrate the 250 years since the Declaration of Independence, we need to remember where we came from, how we got here, and where we are going. The Declaration and the Constitution represent an ideal, not a forlorn hope. They are an attempt by imperfect people to seek an archetype no other nation has ever attained. Nevertheless, we cannot and should never whitewash history. We need to live the reality of the nation’s promise to all peoples while keeping in mind our past. Our nation’s triumphs include the Declaration of Independence, the women’s suffrage movement, the defeat of the Third Reich, and the passage of the Civil Rights Act. And the failures of this nation, to name just a few, include slavery, the genocide of Native Americans, the Civil War, Jim Crow laws, and the torture and abuse at Abu Ghraib prison.
During the last several months, while barnstorming across the state as a Rule of Law Ambassador, I have been frequently asked the same series of questions. First, “What exactly is the rule of law?” Second, “Can laws be enacted and applied to perpetuate evil?” And third, after answering “yes” to the second question, “Why should we abide by the rule of law if it can be perverted for evil?”
To the first question, the rule of law means that the same laws apply to everyone, that even government power is bound by the law, and that civil and human rights are guaranteed to all. To illustrate the second question, I refer to historical records. For example, many of the aforementioned failures in our country have been carried out and enforced under the law. In answering the third question, I bring my audience back to the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. Law on its own cannot sustain democracy. Courage, responsibility, and moral and ethical leadership build a great nation.
The quote at the beginning of this column is a challenging one. Hannah Arendt’s book, Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil, is about the trial of Adolf Eichmann, one of the main orchestrators of the Holocaust. During his trial in Jerusalem, which Arendt reported on for The New Yorker, Eichmann was quoted to have stated that he was simply following orders, and that he did not personally hate Jewish people. His horrific actions were not, Arendt posited, driven by psychopathy or even malice, but rather a mindless dedication to a leader and a system and a failure to think for himself.
Very simply put, this is Arendt’s theory of the banality of evil—that some of the worst crimes against humanity are not committed by monsters but by ordinary people whipped into a frenzy by their leaders to hate one another. This is how ordinary people acquiesce to the perversion of the rule of law. Others come to ignore crimes against humanity when the perception is that those crimes are not harming one of their own.
Upholding the rule of law requires earnest participation by all peoples, regardless of race, creed, or sexual orientation. There is a lot in Hannah Arendt’s book worth considering. I hope it is a call to action and not to cynicism—that although the law itself can be used for corrupt and terrible purposes, humans have a responsibility to one another to continue to work at this ever-evolving project.
What the framers of our Constitution and the Declaration of Independence sought to do with their flowery prose and poetic license was to create a set of ideals and a roadmap that we must preserve and perfect. The framers sought a future where every generation of Americans would build on the ideals that they themselves never attained. My clarion call is for us as legal professionals to see ourselves within this framework. Become personally accountable for this work.
I want to echo Executive Director Terra Nevitt’s call to action on page 10 and end this discussion with an opportunity that I hope is easy and joyful to participate in. After launching the Rule of Law Ambassador Program, the WSBA had the great fortune of partnering with the Judges in the Classroom Program, which launched in 1996 as a joint effort of the Washington State Courts and Administrative Office of the Courts. Through the WSBA’s partnership, we now also have a Lawyers in the Classroom Program. The goal of both of these programs is to get judges and lawyers into K-12 classrooms to teach about the legal and judicial systems as well as the basic concepts of law and fairness.
Educating the next generation of leaders about the Constitution and the rule of law is one of the most important and urgent duties of a legal ambassador. This is especially true during the nation’s 250th anniversary. For Law Day 2026, with the support of Judges and Lawyers in the Classroom, we issued a call to action: We ask every legal professional to take a pledge to be in a classroom engaging with students on Constitution Day, Sept. 17.
Imagine the kind of impact hundreds of lawyers and judges could have in classrooms, talking about what the Constitution looks like in action. I invite you to make this pledge and share the call with your colleagues and other legal professionals you know. We are making it easy for anyone who wants to get involved by providing logistical information about how to connect with a teacher and specific lessons for different age groups. All you have to do is sign up, and we will support you from there. Visit www.wsba.org/about-wsba/ambassadors/law-day to learn more.
Every generation has a defining responsibility. The generation of the founding fathers wrote the Declaration of Independence and secured democracy. Our generation must move forward with that promise and secure justice for all. As attorneys and legal practitioners in Washington, we need to move forward together—rejecting division, cynicism, and despair; embracing unity, hope, and confidence. Let us advance the cause of justice by educating the next generation who will carry the baton forward. For example, our generation has witnessed remarkable progress for the LGBTQ+ community. We may lose all those gains if care is not taken to educate one another. I believe we can do it. We will not shy away from confronting bigotry and injustice. We can’t let cynicism triumph over optimism. Let us all commit to building a diverse legal community, united by a common purpose, strengthened by diversity. A Washington state where justice is accessible, liberty is secure, and opportunity is abundant. It is an ideal we can aspire to.
Bend the Arc!
About the author
Francis A. Adewale is the 2025-2026 WSBA president. He can be reached at:
NOTES
1. Hannah Arendt, Eichman in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil. New York: Penguin Books, 1994, pages 22, 25-26, 135, 276-279.
2. John Burt, Robert Penn Warren and American Idealism. Yale University Press, 1988, page 260. Accessed 6/17/26 at www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1dszw0f.