A call for calm and mercy: no death penalty for the January 6 coup
I wish to join the call for calm. To those who feel insurrection is treason, punishable by death, I council calm and mercy. We are bigger than those insurgents of January 6, 2021 who sought to topple our government, our constitution, our core belief in rule by law.
Ten years in prison, as called for in the US code (below) for rebellion and insurrection. Fine them, bar them from ever holding office. The death penalty for treason? I understand, but in the name of calm and unity, let's be merciful. Throw them in prison and we'll move on.
Many other laws were broken too, but these are the ones that threaten the core of our nation. And I don't give a damn why they did it. When they stormed the Capitol, they threw any possible merit to their perceived grievances out the freaking window.
If you, dear reader, dear friend, disagree. If you feel any sympathy for the insurrectionists, I'll try to listen to you, hear you out, publicly or privately. Don't expect to change my mind, as I don't expect to change yours. But I will listen. Even as I cheer on efforts to hunt down and hold accountable every single participant.
For reference, here are selected Sections from the US Code
Yesterday, upon the stair, I met a man who wasn't there. He wasn't there again today, I wish, I wish he'd go away...
When I came home last night at three, The man was waiting there for me But when I looked around the hall, I couldn't see him there at all! Go away, go away, don't you come back any more! Go away, go away, and please don't slam the door...
Last night I saw upon the stair, A little man who wasn't there, He wasn't there again today Oh, how I wish he'd go away...
Where were you when the Nazis bombed Pearl? Where were you when Ruby killed Jack? Where were you when Bobby killed Martin? Where were you when Glenn walked the moon? Where were you when Columbia was challenged? Where were you when Chad hanged Al? Where were you when the CIA burned the twins? Where were you when Donald pulled off his coup?
A dialogue on compassion between a friend and I. Edited to make me look better. And him worse.
GLB
1988 was the year I quit the Republican Party.
On a nice spring/summer day, we walked to the Rockville City Hall and I changed my registration from Republican to Independent. (And the rest, as they say, is history.)
P.S. Attached is a photo of yours truly meeting William F. Buckley Jr. at Gonzaga University in 1962. Notice the priest is watching me suspiciously -- even though I was a good conservative then, maybe the priest smelled a whiff of heresy? (Priests seem to be good a finding heretics.)
Revolution Redux (mangled from the awesome original by Lenon and McCartney)
Revolution Redux
(mangled from the awesome original by Lenon and McCartney)
You say you won the revolution Well, you know We all want to see the votes You tell me that it's mass collusion Well, you know We all want to see the votes
But when you talk about voter fraud Don't you know the courts have thrown you out Don't you know it's gonna be All right, all right, all right
You say you got an affidavit Well, you know We'd all love to see the facts You warn about a retribution Well, you know We'll stop you if we can
But if you want money for people with minds that hate All I can tell is brother you have to wait Don't you know it's gonna be All right, all right, all right
You say you'll change the constitution Well, you know We all want to change your head You tell me it's the institution Well, you know You better free you mind instead
But if you go carrying torches for Donald Trump You ain't going to make it with anyone anyhow Don't you know it's gonna be All right, all right, all right All right, all right, all right All right, all right, all right All right, all right
I debated posting this at all because it's a downer, and there's nothing particularly new here. But it is on my mind so here goes.
We are all going to die. The total morality rate is 1. The question is how we live, how and when we die. Times like these force us to think about how we live, how our choices affect not only our own lives but also the lives of others.
I'm a numbers guy. It may seem callous and cold to speak of life and death as if it's a calculus problem. And indeed, that is a risk. But the alternative, to be willfully ignorant of the numbers, seems to me criminal. If we are to make informed decisions, numbers matter.
So, here are some key numbers emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Can't find it right now, but one of my friends posted an old video, an interview with Martin Luther King, Jr, one of America's greatest leaders of all time. That post reminded me of MLKs "Letter from Birmingham Jail."
You've heard of it, no doubt. But if you've never actually read it, do so now. It will stay with you and inform the rest of your life. As you read, remind yourself he's in jail at the time, writing in long hand. No cut and past to craft the words. No internet or even (gasp) books to look up references. Just his mind. And time. Time he used constructively.
One part that impressed me is his response to the plea to wait before taking further direct action:
"Such an attitude stems from a tragic misconception of time, from the strangely irrational notion that there is something in the very flow of time that will inevitably cure all ills. Actually, time itself is neutral; it can be used either destructively or constructively."
Time itself is neither friend nor foe. It's what you do with it that makes all the difference.