Deserving of Death for Lying?
I'll admit up front that I am opposed to the death penalty.
This comes from my Christian Values. Christ submitted to his own execution not because he believed strongly in the death penalty as a deterrent to crime, but because he knew that regardless of what men on this Earth call justice there is a higher judge to which we will be held accountable. Jesus was not only innocent of the crime he was executed for, but innocent of any crime. That, coupled with his stopping what was, by Jewish law, a legal execution leads me to think the only stance on the death penalty a Christian can take is to oppose the death penalty. Death cuts a person off artificially from the chance for redemption and forgiveness.
Perhaps this is why so many Christians are proponents of the death penalty. They, like Hamlet delaying his murder of Claudius, want to deny those they hate the chance of redemption and to more quickly get them into hell. I'm not sure how they can continue to call themselves Christians if this is how they feel, but Jesus was well aware of the problem of hypocrisy even among his most ardent followers. That is why he constantly warned against it.
In the case of Zacarias Moussaoui, we are seeking the death penalty not for what he actually did do, but for what he says he wanted to do and for what he failed to prevent by lying to the FBI. Why is it that many of the people rabidly hungering for this execution are often the same people claiming that hate crime legislation is wrong because you can't try someone for what they are thinking?
If we execute Moussaoui on the grounds that if he had not lied to the FBI the deaths of thousands of innocent people could have been avoided, then it certainly begs the question as to what the consequences should be for Bush, since the lies told to the American people by our president mislead us into a war which has killed tens of thousands. Telling us the truth could have avoided this war.
And yet, even today, knowing all that has been revealed, Bush continues to express pride rather than remorse over the loss of life he has willingly caused.
This war happened because we were told false information, and were not told important information which contradicted the false information that we were given.
Because the President lied to us about the threat posed by Hussein, because the President has actually admitted selectively declassifying only that information which supported his case and not the preponderance of information collected by intelligence services which contradicted his conclusions about WMD and the threat posed by Iraq...tens of thousands of people are dead. That is a fact.
Should we hold this lunatic terrorist rejected by Al Qaida to a higher standard of punishment for not fully disclosing their knowledge of a possible threat than we do our own president? If we don't, then what does that say about us as a people?
Bush either lied to us or is dangerously incompetent. Which do you prefer? Neither is worthy of continuing to hold the office of the President of the United States.
We are going to put Moussaoui to death because he wanted to kill Americans and we have decided he lied to us about his knowledge of the impending 9-11 attacks.
We invaded another nation on the grounds that our leader claimed its leader wanted to kill Americans and we claimed their leader was lying about his inability to attack us.
Our President wanted to tart a war that he knew would kill thousands of innocent Iraqis and lied about his intention to do so. He lied about the justifications for doing so. He is using the same rhetoric again about Iran.
Of the three, our President is the only one who actually did what he wanted to do.
If we are going to embrace the doctrine of pre-emption we should not be surprised when any other nation also embraces that same doctrine.
If we are going to embrace a hunger for vengeance, we must accept that those whom we harm will also seek vengeance with the same justification.
It is time to accept that the only "total victory" which will make us safe is the complete and utter removal of all who oppose or question Bush from the face of the earth. The President has said time and again, you are with us or you are against us.
Nothing could be more dangerous for the world than a Domoninionist and a proponent of End Times theology with more power than any other human has ever had before.
George Bush cares about only one thing...that he has looked Evil in the face and said "Bring it on." No price is too high for him to ask us to pay in his effort to destroy evil.
How willing are you to allow him to spend of the blessings God has given you--your lives, your hopes, your families, your treasure--and how willing are you to allow him to define for you what is and is not evil?
I am not asking for Bush's execution. I am crying out for justice for all people. You can not condemn one man to death and exalt another man as heroic for the same action...telling lies which lead to the deaths of thousands.
Deny Moussaoui the martyrdom he craves and knows he did not earn.
Hold Bush accountable for his deceptions and abuses of power.
Be more careful about what you choose to believe.
Be just.
Be fair.
Be Americans who uphold the ideals of our republic.
Be vigilent in defense of our nation and its democratic principles. Much more than your individual security is at stake.
This comes from my Christian Values. Christ submitted to his own execution not because he believed strongly in the death penalty as a deterrent to crime, but because he knew that regardless of what men on this Earth call justice there is a higher judge to which we will be held accountable. Jesus was not only innocent of the crime he was executed for, but innocent of any crime. That, coupled with his stopping what was, by Jewish law, a legal execution leads me to think the only stance on the death penalty a Christian can take is to oppose the death penalty. Death cuts a person off artificially from the chance for redemption and forgiveness.
Perhaps this is why so many Christians are proponents of the death penalty. They, like Hamlet delaying his murder of Claudius, want to deny those they hate the chance of redemption and to more quickly get them into hell. I'm not sure how they can continue to call themselves Christians if this is how they feel, but Jesus was well aware of the problem of hypocrisy even among his most ardent followers. That is why he constantly warned against it.
In the case of Zacarias Moussaoui, we are seeking the death penalty not for what he actually did do, but for what he says he wanted to do and for what he failed to prevent by lying to the FBI. Why is it that many of the people rabidly hungering for this execution are often the same people claiming that hate crime legislation is wrong because you can't try someone for what they are thinking?
If we execute Moussaoui on the grounds that if he had not lied to the FBI the deaths of thousands of innocent people could have been avoided, then it certainly begs the question as to what the consequences should be for Bush, since the lies told to the American people by our president mislead us into a war which has killed tens of thousands. Telling us the truth could have avoided this war.
And yet, even today, knowing all that has been revealed, Bush continues to express pride rather than remorse over the loss of life he has willingly caused.
This war happened because we were told false information, and were not told important information which contradicted the false information that we were given.
Because the President lied to us about the threat posed by Hussein, because the President has actually admitted selectively declassifying only that information which supported his case and not the preponderance of information collected by intelligence services which contradicted his conclusions about WMD and the threat posed by Iraq...tens of thousands of people are dead. That is a fact.
Should we hold this lunatic terrorist rejected by Al Qaida to a higher standard of punishment for not fully disclosing their knowledge of a possible threat than we do our own president? If we don't, then what does that say about us as a people?
Bush either lied to us or is dangerously incompetent. Which do you prefer? Neither is worthy of continuing to hold the office of the President of the United States.
We are going to put Moussaoui to death because he wanted to kill Americans and we have decided he lied to us about his knowledge of the impending 9-11 attacks.
We invaded another nation on the grounds that our leader claimed its leader wanted to kill Americans and we claimed their leader was lying about his inability to attack us.
Our President wanted to tart a war that he knew would kill thousands of innocent Iraqis and lied about his intention to do so. He lied about the justifications for doing so. He is using the same rhetoric again about Iran.
Of the three, our President is the only one who actually did what he wanted to do.
If we are going to embrace the doctrine of pre-emption we should not be surprised when any other nation also embraces that same doctrine.
If we are going to embrace a hunger for vengeance, we must accept that those whom we harm will also seek vengeance with the same justification.
It is time to accept that the only "total victory" which will make us safe is the complete and utter removal of all who oppose or question Bush from the face of the earth. The President has said time and again, you are with us or you are against us.
Nothing could be more dangerous for the world than a Domoninionist and a proponent of End Times theology with more power than any other human has ever had before.
George Bush cares about only one thing...that he has looked Evil in the face and said "Bring it on." No price is too high for him to ask us to pay in his effort to destroy evil.
How willing are you to allow him to spend of the blessings God has given you--your lives, your hopes, your families, your treasure--and how willing are you to allow him to define for you what is and is not evil?
I am not asking for Bush's execution. I am crying out for justice for all people. You can not condemn one man to death and exalt another man as heroic for the same action...telling lies which lead to the deaths of thousands.
Deny Moussaoui the martyrdom he craves and knows he did not earn.
Hold Bush accountable for his deceptions and abuses of power.
Be more careful about what you choose to believe.
Be just.
Be fair.
Be Americans who uphold the ideals of our republic.
Be vigilent in defense of our nation and its democratic principles. Much more than your individual security is at stake.
posted by Archie Levine at 6:27 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home