A post by Pat
The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all your Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all your Tears wash out a Word of it
– Omar Khayyam
“He paid his debt to society” is a detestable phrase. I cringe every time I hear it.
I’m not focusing on Michael Vick, a man who delighted in savage cruelty to imprisoned animals and now wants the slate wiped clean. All the beneficiaries of this fictional ledger keeping are criminals. Often they committed more than one crime, diligently trying to avoid discovery. There was nothing in their hearts to make them stop on their own. After being caught they lie. They are given a trial where lawyers can use the generous technicalities of the law to their clients favor and avoid punishment.
Trials and sentences are about punishment not redemption. Incarceration is not a bizarre installment plan to pay off a moral balance. That isn’t possible. The crime is not undone. The victims are not uninjured. The effects of crime on the innocent are everlasting.
People like to muse about what they would do differently if they had their lives to live over again. A futile exercise. We can’t cancel out what’s been done. There’s no going back other than through our conscience. Our past incorporates into our conscience to determine what we will do tomorrow. We are judged everyday by others and by ourselves. This is what keeps a lot of people from committing crimes in the first place.
The law-abiding who are successful as a result of hard work are constantly told they owe a debt to society. Their nebulous debt has no limit, no expiration date. Why should we be less demanding when it comes to criminals?
Pat,
You express yourself so well. Wish I had that knack. Thanks for saying what I am thinking about this circumstance and the analogies to life in general.
Steve Perry
Worse yet are the politicians who get a free pass on their illegal conduct. They are held up as paragons of virtue because they can get themselved elected to public office then rape the public of its money for their own benefit.
Time to fire them and elect REAL people.
Bravo, Pat! Can I subscribe to your podcast as well? If not, get one!
How this punctuates chapter 5 of the DEATH of RIGHT and WRONG: “My concern here is how the spread of moral relavitism keeps good people from being comfortable with their judgments or
even sure about what kind of judgments to come to.” Americans in this country have a remarkable array of genuine role models to emulate, from Michael Jordan, to Condoleezza Rice to Colin Powell
to Halle Berry. The victicrats have no excuse for the concessions they make in behalf of the
sickest and most dangerous malignant narcissists (yes, I bite Tammy’s style here)of the community
when that effort would be exponentially beneficial celebrating we Americans who happen to be
of color and are doing the Right thing!
Thanks to you and sperry for your compliments. I must have had a power breakfast this morning.
Pat, your power breakfast definitely didn’t include a waffle or anything sugar coated. Thanks for the “food for thought”.
Watched news and photos of Vick last night.
Is that mean look on his face indicitive of a mean spirit or is he striking a pose for his opposing teams?
I think the former to be true. Like Mike Tyson episodes after his reinstatements people are playing with fire.
I need to see more of his work with saving dogs , pets and humanity before I am won over.
#30#
The above statement should be hung in every living room or kitchen in America. Just my opinion.
the seemingly endless sympathy for criminals and those who really are a destructive drain on society and a threat when compared and contrasted with obama’s destructive socialist agenda- like the health care swindle-points out exactly where their theories are wrong and their objectives fascist to the core. the left is so sympathetic to criminals and thugs because they’re the ones closest in spirit to their own deepest darkest desires- personal power over other people( and even creatures) which is the heart and soul of any criminal act.
the 60s radical mind set always set such great store in championing criminals and criminality because that is what they themselves became-violent mobsters to force change and outright murderers.( this is why they now have so much admiration for and shield at every turn jihadists- they admire their technique which neatly mirrors what they had once aspired to do. also islamic law requires a sort of theocratic socialism and they love that. socialism- so dreamy. ) the main justification they used for their repugnant behavior and crimes was that the government and the rich were the ‘real’ criminals and they had the right via any means necessary to ‘ fight for freedom’. it’s all projection. their artificial sympathy for the ‘ oppressed’ which includes just about anyone in prison except white collar white criminals is merely a smoke screen- manipulate the masses, the under dog who wants lots of stuff but doesn’t want to work for it and you control them- they’re your very own slave class .
they’re criminals every one- calling the law abiding tax paying citizens nazis and evil while letting evil criminals go and acting the fascists themselves. however- it seems they one thing on a lot of people’s minds today is- how differently they would have voted.
“They are given a trial where lawyers can use the generous technicalities of the law to their clients favor and avoid punishment.”
In fairness, Vick did not have a trial, and neither do most criminals. 90+% of criminal cases end in a plea, not a trial. However, they generally plead guilty (or more often, “no contest,” the plea of convenience) not because they are remorseful and honest in confessing their wrongdoing but because the facts of their particular case suggest little or no chance at trial, and because they know they will get a better sentence before trial than after.
I’m a prosecutor and I agree with your sentiment, yet I do also always worry when people refer to “technicalities.” Sometimes, referring to the law in that way is appropriate, yet one should not forget that we are fortunate to live in a place where, contrary to circumstances almost everywhere else and throughout history, the law is as much a shield for individual liberty as a sword in the hands of the state.
Pat, I was going to comment, but you said it all right here.
I know scores of folks who committed crimes, went to jail, came out and were changed people ( I hang with a strange crowd). Some have been my close friends for decades. Some I know have given back to the community in ways that have changed the lives of hundreds for the better. Most say jail was the best thing that ever happened to them. Some I know believe jail saved their lives. It’s very weird, the word ‘grateful’ comes up alot when you talk to them about it. Most do not want the ‘slate cleaned’, no, the opposite is true. They look at their crimes and their time as the most valuable experiences in their lives. They use their experience to help others change their lives. And they do it out of their heart. As for redemption, as I understand it, you get that only through God, not your P.O. , fans or the NFL. Go ahead and ask your friends who have been in the pen about how they feel about their ‘time’ next time they come over for dinner with their kids, I think you’ll be surprised.
The NFL and the Eagles are private businesses, they can hire and fire as they please, even if it is a sick and twisted dog killer. This is America, right ?? If he wins games, fans will watch, they make money.
With that being said, I hate seeing Vick playing football for the Eagles. I am a Redskins fan, he is a very good quarterback, and we would have to face him twice this season. So yeah, he should be banned.
Just saying… I am surprised he is not playing for the Raiders or the Browns with all the other criminals.
Social ostracism has been lost in this country. People like Vick need to be held accountable. He has served his time, but the public should expect more from public figures. The Eagles should be shunned for signing him. Let it hurt in their pocket books!