Justice and Humanity

by poputonian

During the American Revolution, George Washington wrote several letters to British General William Howe about the mistreatment of American prisoners of war. In each letter, Washington used the phrase “justice and humanity demands … ” as a way to appeal to Howe. Justice and humanity are universal qualities that align with most everyone’s sense of right and wrong.

The number of people who have died as a result of the Iraq debacle is approaching 700,000; if the number of injured could be added to the count, the total must approach one million. The United States — because of the recklessness, negligence, and fraud of its elected leaders, and because of a flawed system that fails to keep the corrupt influence of money from those who hold political power — is directly responsible for the injured and the dead.

In the eyes of justice and humanity, how do we — you and me — as part of a representative democracy, escape an equal share of responsibility for the carnage? As part of a country where coercive trade and rampant self-enrichment has historically led to the systematic decimation of opposing cultures, including the decimation of the politically weak, why should we also not be held to account? In the eyes of justice and humanity, how does America atone for this mistake in Iraq, reconcile and correct its flawed system of politics, and prevent future debacles of this magnitude? How does America ensure that despots and tyrants don’t again so easily gain the highest office in the land?

The only way I can think of is to (not necessarily in sequential order): 1. Undergo Congressional investigation of Bush administration conduct. 2. Appoint a special prosecutor. 3. Actuate a popular movement insisting on impeachment. 4. Remove the guilty from office. 5. Enact legislation to deal with a flawed system of mass media. 6. Enact legislation to fix the electoral process. 7. Pay reparations to Iraq or some international institution.

What else?Shouldn’t the question of impeachment not be one of partisan political strategy, but instead be about justice and humanity as seen through the eyes of the entire world?