Many people say that the law is there to protect us and to ensure that justice prevails. However, some people say that it is there to baffle the average person, especially since some of the terms used in the field of law are Latin words. One good example of this is the term
OBITER DICTUM (
OBITER DICTA, for plural) which many laymen think is a dirty but formal word that refers to a male reproductive organ. (I know some of you are thinking . . . O.M.G.! Where is she going with this?!?) I hate to disappoint many of you sickos out there (like many of my friends who shall remain nameless), but the real meaning of the word is not exciting . . .
at all. Nevertheless, let's take a closer look at the word, just for the heck of it (and so that we could use it on people to look smart!)
Actually,
obiter dictum (in law) refers to an opinion voiced by a judge that only has an incidental bearing on the case in question. It is not considered as the main decision of the case, so it is not technically binding and doesn't carry with it the force of law. So, why am I writing about this Latin word? . . . Why did you click on this post? . . . I wanted to show you that language can be the source of enjoyment in life. Even the strangest of words could bring back embarrassing but sometimes funny memories . . . like
obiter dictum.
As many of you know, I like to relate words to every day life. So 'my friend' Hannah Cris Azcona Echavez challenged me to write about
obiter dictum. We were classmates in our first year of law school and she wanted to see how it could be related to life. It took me a while to think about how I could make these uncommon Latin words a lesson in life or to connect it to living life under the sun . . . Then , after a rather long while (no thanks to Hannah - lol), it hit me!
Point of view! (As usual, many of you have question marks in your head and are wondering how in the world this is connected. Don't worry, the dots will be connected. I promise.)
Sometimes in life, we don't know what words mean, so many of us feel awkward and embarrassed when they are used in a conversation . . . or when our teacher asks us about them . . . in class . . . in front of our friends . . . and enemies (ouch!). Many of us beat ourselves up for not knowing words and for putting ourselves in embarrassing situations because of a limited vocabulary. That should never be the case! Just shrug off the moment and look at it as a funny slip-up in your life truly worth laughing about. Trust me, when you do find out what the word means, you will
never forget it.
Here's a funny experience involving . . . you guessed it!
Obiter dictum! When I was a
pledge or
neophyte in a sorority in the first month of my first year of law school (
neophyte is the Filipino - English word for a
pledge in a fraternity or sorority), I was super busy. My fellow pledges and I always had so many things to do or "missions" to accomplish [although, I admit my co-pledges had more to do at the time because they were all single (without kids) and full-time law students, unlike me]. Hence, I was always nervous in class because many of our law professors would make us stand up and ask us questions about legal concepts and jurisprudence (case law or decided cases). As I could seldom do the assigned readings, I often thought . . . Yikes! Please God, don't let me be called! Then, I would do my best to hide behind the person sitting in front of me . . . as if that would help. Actually, it was a useless move because our professors had our names on cards called 'recitation cards'. Many of our them shuffled the "cards of death" and called out the name of the unlucky student who was required to answer a usually difficult question given shortly afterwards.
One time, I was called by my first year law professor Atty. Apo (for short) in my class on the Law on Persons (a part of Civil Law for all the non-legal eagles out there). When he said my name, my jaw dropped and my heart felt like it was trying to break out of my chest because I knew that I would probably be unable to answer the question. You see, it wasn't as simple as not being able to answer the question. Since I had the privilege of attending one of the best law schools in the Philippines (#5 in the nation), the standard was quite high and the professors were quite strict. Many students would be given a verbal lashing for being unable to answer questions in class correctly or well. Suffice it to say, my knees wanted to buckle when I stood up to hear the question I was to answer. When Atty. Apo asked me what an
obiter dictum was, almost all of my classmates (many of whom always did the reading assignments) sighed because they wished that they had gotten that question. They thought that I was so lucky to get such an easy question . . . but they were wrong. I was not lucky. Sad to say, no matter how easy a question is, it still sucks when you don't know the answer!
In a situation like that, some students would just stay quiet and wait for the professor to reprimand them for not reading the assigned material. Others would speak very slowly trying to give an answer while his classmates nearby would whisper the answer (loud enough for everyone to hear, of course). Everyone thought I knew the answer because it was such an easy question . . . but then, I hadn't done the reading assignment . . . and
obiter dictum was definitely not a word we used every day . . . I was clueless.
What did I do? As my professor waited for my answer, I decided to do something else and go 'against the flow'. I figured that there was no use in fretting about the situation because it was not going to be any better. So, I changed my
point of view and looked at it as merely a passing moment in life that I had to get through. I decided to say,
with great confidence and a winning smile, "It is a custom, sir". Of course, as you know from the meaning that I gave you above, my answer was absolutely ridiculous and 100% incorrect. Instead of insulting me for not reading, my professor smiled, politely asked me to take my seat and called the next person. (Yipee! I think that he thought I would make a great lawyer - read between the lines. LOL!) In addition, although my classmates giggled (of course), they nonetheless admired my self-confidence for saying something without flinching even though I had no idea what the answer was. I realized that when I had a different
point of view about the situation, I took control of it and it could no longer bring me down. It no longer mattered, and thus, became a mere memory which would be enjoyable to recall and a situation to learn from (which is to do my homework next time!). I may have looked stupid, but I didn't care . . . so, it didn't hurt me. I even laugh about it now . . . LOL =)
Hence kids,
points of view are vital to enjoying life and finding its meaning in everything we do or say. . . no matter how ridiculous. Stupidity is thinking you're stupid and letting others get you down. On the other hand, true genius is being able to look at stupid situations from a different point of view . . . and discovering that life is not the "pits". It is actually a "bowl of cherries" . . . of which you could spit out the "pits". So, take a look at your life and find the beauty in it. Live and enjoy life by looking at it from a different point of view . . . from
under the sun . . . and see your life become more vibrant and meaningful!
Carpe Diem!