Rules that set apart

I am in my office this day fine tuning my sermon and service for tomorrow. As I am doing that, I have been reflecting on the many ways we have of creating insiders and outsiders. We develop laws and rules to tell us what is acceptable and what is not. Often these rules also state who is acceptable and who is not. I realize that there is a need for rules for us to be able to function and to live together. These rules that are beneficial are important to society. I worry about what happens when a group whether the majority or often the case a dominant minority of people begin to dictate what is acceptable and who is acceptable. I have been reflecting on what is happening in our world today. Sometimes I wonder about what is going on and who is determining what is going on. Today it was announced that those who have complained about the corruption in the rebuilding of Iraq have been vilified, fired, and otherwise discredited. What bothers me is that I am not surprised.
Somewhere rules are only meant to benefit those who have power and have no ethical consideration of how they effect others. And when they break laws or rules, they do so with little concern about the consequences that can occur. Even when brought to justice, they often serve a significantly less time for their crimes and even get pardoned by the controlling political party both republican and democrats. Those in power will come up with excuses as to why it is OK to do what they are doing. An example beyond the corruption in Iraq is what has happened to the outsourcing of finished goods to foreign countries like China and Taiwan. The people of this nation state that they would buy products made in the USA but the corporations are more concerned about making huge profits more then they are concerned about the safety of those products. Where is the ethical concern about what they are doing? Especially when what they are doing is potentially harming the health of our children. Another thing as I am ranting is where is the pro-life outrage about this situation.
What got me thinking about this is the story in Luke about Jesus healing the crippled woman on the Sabbath and the reactions of those who were empowered to control the behavior of Sabbath. Jesus was more concerned about the well-being of one person then about holding fast to the rules of Sabbath. The question I am left with is should I be concerned as well as others about the well-being of others especially those who are least likely to have a voice or power then in the reasoning that just because it is legal it is OK.