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Where has Justice gone?
In a treasure-trove of ideas on Justice, Plato may hold the original key to this great bank.
In Book One of the Republic by Plato, a young Sophist, Thrasymachus defines Justice as the strongest members of society imposing their will on the masses. To the Sophist, Justice is whatever appears advantageous to the ruling aristocracy. In subsequent passages, Socrates dismisses this argument by proving that the strong rarely even know what is best for them, much less what best serves the masses. According to Plato, Justice is a good thing and ignorance on such a wide scale has nothing in common with good.
Plato is not the sole banker when it comes to Justice: Thomas Jefferson also serves as a prime depositor.
"The majority, oppressing an individual, is guilty of a crime, abuses its strength, and by acting on the law of the strongest breaks up the foundations of society."
“Unequal privileges among members of the same society are adverse.”
“The most sacred of the duties of a government is to do equal and impartial Justice to all its citizens.”
“The best principles of our republic are to secure for all citizens a perfect equality of rights.”
On April 16, 1963, in his Letter from Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King Jr. made a substantial deposit, by writing “Injustice anywhere is a threat to Justice everywhere.”
Perhaps these archaic ideas on Justice lack appeal in modern culture. More likely, the hallowed halls of Justice are now filled with hot-check writers that think the word is simply a catch-phrase for speeches.
Does the swift sword of Justice still cut both ways?
When the FBI employed a tactic never before used against any member of the U.S. legislative branch, by raiding Congressional Offices of Rep. William J. Jefferson (D-LA), it seemed that not only Thomas Jefferson but also all The Framers turned in their graves.
With Democrats, Justice translates into a swift investigation and several leaders were quick to cash in on the bounty.
Ominously, House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) quickly expressed alarm at the raid. "Actions of the Justice Department in seeking and executing this warrant raise important Constitutional issues that go well beyond the specifics of this case."
But more recently Hastert hung a bit of bad paper at the bank of Justice.
On October 3, 2006, during CNN broadcast, Hastert again seemed shocked, as he insisted on a full investigation of a member of his own party, resulting from sexually explicit e-mails from former representative Mark Foley (R-Fla.) to a 16-year-old male page.
According to Majority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) Hastert was notified early this year of inappropriate e-mails from Foley to the child, contradicting the speaker's assertions that he learned of concerns about Foley only last week.
In an October 1, 2006 article of The Washington Post Boehner claims Hastert knew of "inappropriate contact" between Foley and the young page since last spring.
Hastert did not dispute the claims of Rep. Thomas M. Reynolds (R-N.Y.), and his office confirmed that some of Hastert's top aides knew last year that Foley had been ordered to cease contact with the boy and to treat all pages respectfully.
Certainly many other modern clients have sought withdrawals from the vaults of Justice.
After the FBI raid on Jefferson’s office, Carl Forti, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee said "As bad as people want to say the Abramoff situation was, it didn't lead to any House offices getting raided."
While the Abramoff “situation,” brings to mind Nay and DeLey, pondering Justice leads to research into the Just prosecution and incarceration of Duke Cunningham. Will Nay ever taste Justice?
As he continues to cash hot-checks at the First National Bank of Plato, Ney remains defiant:
On May 11, 2006, House Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio) got a standing ovation from fellow Republicans; after he told them that he has no plans to resign and will vigorously fend off any upcoming Federal indictments.
After all his withdrawals from Justice, DeLay is not exactly copping a plea either:
Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas), whose legal troubles forced him to step down as House majority leader, currently brings in large corporate donations for other Republicans.
On December 5th, 2005, a judge threw out the Conspiracy charge against DeLay, causing prosecutor, District Attorney Ronnie Earle to appeal. On April 19, 2006 the Texas Third Court of Appeals upheld a ruling to dismiss conspiracy charges but that finding is still under assessment, which likely pushes any trial off until at least next year.
In the face of impending prosecution, DeLay attempted to withdraw from upcoming elections but a court ruling prevents the Republican Party from replacing him on the November ballot. According to a KTRK-TV interview on August 25, 2006, he said "I'm very disappointed in our Justice system. There doesn't seem to be Justice."
Perhaps DeLay will finally find his idea of Justice, after he finishes shopping for a friendly judge.
According to a New York Times article dated October 4, 2006, DeLay requested that Judge Perkins resign from his case on money laundering and conspiracy charges because he has contributed to Democratic causes that oppose him. Judge Perkins referred the decision to B.B. Schraub, presiding judge of the third administrative judicial region. Judge Schraub subsequently assigned the case to Judge Duncan.
While child-molesting cowards like Foley hide behind claims of alcoholism and a sad childhood, at least war-heroes, like Cunningham are on a cash-only basis in the markets of Justice.
In a Los Angeles Times article on March 4, 2006, a federal judge sentenced disgraced former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham to eight years and four months in prison for taking bribes and evading taxes.
Federal prisoners are generally eligible for parole after serving 85% of their sentence, or seven years and one month in the Cunningham case.
Prison life can be hard for many inmates but not if they are well-represented in our courts of Justice.
The Low Security Correctional Institution (LSCI) where Cunningham serves sprawls across 10 acres of grassy land in Butner, about 20 minutes north of Durham. Built by the federal government in 1992 to hold 800 female prisoners, it offers some uniquely family oriented facilities.
An ongoing project at the Federal facility seeks to create a place where children will enjoy visiting their fathers.
In group therapy, an inmate said, "Our kids can be in here for six hours on a Saturday afternoon, and without something to do, they go out of their gourds."
Indeed, the squat, concrete-block buildings at LSCI resemble a modern high school, except for the razor-wire and the fact that all sidewalks and corridors end in locked gates.
In the courtyard, inmates have planted azaleas and jasmine vines donated by a Raleigh nursery.
One whole wall of the visitation room is glass and offers a great view of a courtyard.
Friends and families of prisoners have access to comfy seating areas, laid out like living rooms. Kids of inmates are encouraged to play with their fathers on an extensive playground. Facilities also include a game library for the kids. But sadly, previously installed sand play tables are now gone. Corrections officers found them hard to maintain.
Late in April, an inmate even composed a song to dedicate a bright green, yellow and blue children's mural on a wall of the visitation room:
Hanging plants, colorful carpets, on the walls
We even had sound proofing installed.
Tarzan and friends for the kids while they play
So when they come, it will be a better day.
We all are one, we all had fun,
We have shown unity.
Last but not least, would the great American bank of Justice treat you with the same respect it offers our fine leaders? After you send sordid e-mail to minors will you be allowed to hide in rehab? After you bilk the public out of billions, will our Bank of Justice simply tear up your insufficient check? Is the bank of Justice finally bankrupt or has America simply accepted too many hot checks?
Dr. King said, "We refuse to believe that the bank of Justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of Justice."
"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."
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