Tikkun Magazine, November/December 2008 

EDITORIAL

Criminals Giving Each Other Pardons

It is truly hard to rate which of President George W. Bush's outrages will get greatest attention in American history. Certainly his violation of international law by invading Iraq on the falsified "evidence" of a threat of Weapons of Mass Destruction is a major outrage. The subsequent occupation of Iraq must be one of these, and signing off on torture may be another.

There is growing discussion of the possibility that Bush may commit another such crime during his last month and a half in office—he may grant pardons to members of his own administration who committed illegal acts such as lying to Congress and the American people. Is it possible that he will also find a way to issue a pardon for his own crimes, too?

I do not believe it is appropriate to ever look at any individual as an embodiment of evil. Watch Oliver Stone's one-dimensionally sympathetic portrayal of Bush in his new movie "W". and you certainly can't help but be reminded of the vulnerability and sadness in this man who ended up doing so many horrible things. Bush has caused so much pain both to the citizens of the United States and the well-being of our country as well as to millions of people in Iraq and other places around the world. I continue to pray for Bush and for many other who served in his administration.

Yet while affirming their humanity and refusing to see them as embodiments of evil, I do believe that they committed criminal acts and deserve to be brought to justice. Even if they are not given long sentences in prison, Bush and his accomplices have committed serious crimes. They ought to face those crimes, acknowledge them, and be taken to task for them. Public repentance and atonement would do much for the United States and would help re-validate our system of laws, checks, and balances.

There have been many complaints about the process of truth and reconciliation adopted in South Africa, because criminal acts of torture, terrorism, and repression went unpunished as the wrongdoers testified to the public about their acts of violence in exchange for freedom from prosecutions. But the one clear upside of that process is that people learned the truth about the society in which they lived, rather than persisting in the bubble of fan-tasies created by an elite-manipulated media. America needs that as well. Instead of learning forty years later that we were being systematically lied to (e.g. in getting into the Vietnam war), it would be a huge advance in consciousness if we were allowed to break through the distortions of the Bush era. We need to learn what really went on and confront the lies about the environment, health care, torture, war, economic breakdown. None of this will ever come out if the president is allowed to forgive himself and other lawbreakers.

This is a moment to write personal letters to Rep. John Conyers, the chair of the House Judiciary Committee, asking him what he is willing to do to block the president from granting pardons to himself or his co-conspirators, rather than stand by idly as Bush commits yet another crime against common sense and respect for law.

Source Citation

Lerner, Michael. 2008. Criminals Giving Each Other Pardons. Tikkun 23(6): 9.