Crime And Punishment

The progressive world is all a buzz today on the news that advisers are saying it is unlikely that the Obama Administration will bring criminal charges against Bush Administration officials who authorized torture, secret rendition, lied about weapons of mass destruction and illegally spied on American citizens.

Many folks are waiting to see if Bush issues pre-emptive pardons for himself and others involved in these activities. It would be highly unusual for a President to pardon himself but I would not put it past Bush Jr. If he chooses to do that, in my mind that is as good as an admission of guilt. The pardons would be irrevocable.

Obama has stated that he will close Guantanamo and begin reversing some of the more egregious affronts to the constitution the Bush Administration has left in its wake but is it important to hang 'em high for what they have done?

I have to admit a part of me would like to see that. In my opinion Mr. Bush is no better than his fathers one time ally, Saddam Hussein. I believe Mr. Bush and his people were very much involved in what happened on 9/11. Somebody had to set up the thermite and I believe they did it. Why would I think that? Like most extremists, they believe it is OK to lie and OK to sacrifice their own people if the effect is for our own good in the end. And of course they are the only ones who are capable of deciding what "good" means.

Vengeance for all those who have suffered and died as a result of the Bush Administrations policies would be sweet, but it is also true that it won't bring them back and it won't help their suffering. Does Bush et al deserve to hurt the way they have hurt others? I suppose they do, but in a very real way they already are. They either don't know it because they don't know anything else, or they do know it and will never admit their suffering of themselves to the rest of us. The concept of Justice is not limited to a courtroom or the gallows, Universal Law cannot be escaped and what is sown will be reaped whether we are privy to another's harvest or not.

I have personally had to come to terms with crimes against me having gone unpunished, in the conventional sense, and the longer the years stretch out the more I realize there was something far more important than retribution involved here.

To place more importance on making my abuser suffer as I had suffered only serves to perpetuate suffering, both mine and the abuser. Placing the focus squarely on stopping the abuse is what does the most good and the least harm for all involved. It also honors the purpose of suffering in the first place, to teach us to let go of our attachments to it and deeply appreciate and love that which suffering is not.

If we can learn that, then we have achieved something greater than all the vengeance and retribution in the world could ever give us. The only thing all the suffering could possibly be worth in the end.

The way to stop our suffering.

Peace Y'all