A Leisurely Life

  A LEISURELY LIFE

Once again I have learned that AI, as all new technology has done, is to give us more leisure and less work.  This is spoken of as an uncontested view of the good life - - more leisure.  Now, I, being a criminal defense attorney with a significant history of representing those who come foul of the government, have a few comments concerning this mantra.

Without leisure, my work as a criminal defense attorney over the years would have to have been supplemented with other varieties of the legal practice.  Without leisure the criminal practice would be unable to support the number of legal practitioners it now supports.  Without leisure, crime would be significantly lower.  Hence, I, for one, favor additional leisure.

Most people, it would appear to me, do not have the ability to deal effectively with leisure; very little comes from it that has any value to anyone and often it is the source of harm to others.  "Man, I don't have anything to do today.  What can I do that will be fun and wonderful to fill the time and at the same time make life miserable for someone else?"

Watching TV is a possibility, unless it is a sporting event that gets one all riled up in an intoxicated state either in a blissful celebration of one's team being a victor, or sullen in defeat.  I may be being unfair; there are other means of filling the leisure hours.  One can always get a hobby.  Hobbies are not good - - they can fill the hours with mindless activity.  People with hobbies do less crime than those without hobbies.

I will have to say though, that work appears to be the most effective way of staying out of trouble, and hence, not needing my services as a criminal defense attorney.  So when we see new developments in technology that lead to additional leisure and fewer jobs we are for them; it is a benefit to our practice.  AI and other forms of massive unemployment will be especially beneficial.  Currently, many of my clients are lower in mental capacity but with the unemployment of a new set of semi-educated, unemployed, middle class defendants whole new areas of the criminal practice will develop.  

White collar crime has always been more lucrative than the run of the mill drunk driving case or domestic abuse case where the police are required to arrest over a scratch. Also, theft, fraud, burglary, robbery - - crimes dealing with the search for additional income will increase significantly, So I say - - MORE LEISURE, MORE TECHNOLOGY, MORE AVAILABLE TIME.  There is always someone to benefit from the misfortune of others and in this case it is the criminal defense bar.

Richard E H Phelps II

Mingo