Last week I was listening to a report about women from all over the world who left everything to fight with, marry, and procreate with ISIS fighters in Syria. There are many of them being held in prisons – some for as long as 7 years – and they are raising children there. For some of them, the recognition that they had completely messed their lives up by their actions took them a long time to discern; others have not come to that conclusion yet. One has to feel sorry for their innocent children; none of them chose this life. For these women, however, I could not find one bit of sorrow in my heart. One woman from Australia gave a heartfelt plea to the nation of her birth to let her and her daughter come home, but Australia will not let them. Some of these women have repented, expecting absolution. So far, none is to be found.
Which is only right. I have no idea what would lead someone to collude with terrorists in any way, but those who do – including pro-Hamas and Hezbollah Americans – should pay the price. I used to hear about convicted criminals who would find religion while in prison, and the question was always, “Are they truly sorry?” My response was this: people who have truly found God after committing heinous crimes would not ask to be released – they would do the time without asking for a shorter prison term. It may be a bias of mine, but people who are truly faithful accept justice, no matter what. Like the two congressmen who have been accused (after being caught) of sex crimes – Eric Swalwell and Tony Gonzalez – a person with any shred of decency – and common sense – would resign. Not everyone has those attributes. Pity.
“Do the crime – Do the time.” And while pardons are, sometimes, necessary to right injustices, most presidential pardons that I have witnessed over the years have been political payback. In my perfect world, grown-ups take responsibility – immature people try to find loopholes. We say we are tough on crime in America, and history has shown us that this is true, depending on your class and race. The Epstein case is, I think, a test of who we are and what we believe about justice, and this concern crosses politics, religion, and every other point of difference. Will the wealthy and powerful be brought to justice? It is my hope that every single person who hurt a child on Epstein’s island – or knew about it – will pay the price. I’m pretty sure they will, from an eternity point of view – let’s see if they will in the here and now. Maybe – finally – we have grown up enough as a country to make this happen.
Prayer – Holy God, may justice roll down like water, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. Amen.
Today’s art is “Justice” by Pierre Subleyras.