| A Sign of True NobilityI am Caeraerie, born in America, raised there, a citizen of this nation. And there are many things I see in my country which I would like to change. I see the greedy, the corrupt, those who lie the best being rewarded with many of our highest positions. I see the poor, the weak and the oppressed and the rich who exploit this for the sake of profit. And I rage against the injustice and the lies and the subtle shading of truth that makes the truth in itself a lie. I interfere where I can; I do what it is in my power to do; but the greater evil I am currently unable to combat. One day, perhaps. Not now. I rarely comment on the world's events; our news media is far better at that than I. Nor do I comment much upon America's failings or victories; the one is the tune played on by far too many, the other is spouted primarily by those who willfully blind themselves to the shortcomings of this nation and the fact that some of the current mess we are in is of our own making. Never mind that there were visionaries who warned us; our nation created a part, and no small part, of the quagmire we are now in. But if we acknowledge the failings of yesterday, and of today as well, then it is only right that we acknowledge also America's commitment to principles that were considered outdated at the time of the Rennaisance. One of Britain's foremost political statesmen, Lord Acton, wrote, "The essence of nobility, if it be measureable, lies not in the click of coins, nor the stamp of armies, nor the wealth of land and serf. The first is too much our downfall, the second an anachronism that clearer minds of the future will view with disgust, and the last smacks of extortion, theivery and exploitation. Rather, then, if the concept of nobility lies within any, let it be measured in the actions. Measure it with the staff of chivalry, of honor, of commitment to the principles which motivated those of older times. And where this measure cannot be met, I say that nobility does not exist, have you never so many names in the peerage." Today, the news has come that I half-expected,and that I half-feared would not arrive. One of the American soldierswho had participated in what many would term the simple enjoyment of the fruits of rightful conquest has now been tried before a military court-martial. Private First Class Jesse V. Spielman was convicted of conspiracy, aiding/abetting a felony, forcible rape and four counts of murder for his involvement in the rape of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and the murder ofher and her family. The court has passed sentence: 110 years in federal military prison. Spielman was convicted, not for what he did (the prosecutors acknowledge that he did not actually rape the girl), but for refusing to speak inthe girl's defense, for keeping watch while other members of his squad actually raped the girl and for not exposing the crimes. Wherein, then, is the nobility of character that I have seen? Not in Spielman, certainly, nor his sister (who reportedly screamed in court about the government having set Spielman up). No, my view is directed elsewhere. Spielman and his comrades are not the first to exercise the right of conquerors. Nor are they the first to do so in this bloody mess we call Iraq. They are not even the first of the Americans to do so, nor are they the first prosecuted for these crimes and others. But no other nation has done what America did this day. The crime was done in secret and hidden by the flames of gasoline. The witnesses were silenced by knife and gun. The victim was charred. The actions were done without the knowledge of the leaders in Iraq or in America. But when the crime was made known, when the truth was exposed, American investigators, prosecutors and defense personnel madetheir investigations. The lies were stripped away and the truth revealed. One by one the actors in thiscrime were found out, exposed, arrested and bound over for the courts. And this was not conducted under some guiseof training, nor under the protective blanket of an "Official Secrets Act." This was done, conducted, verified, and corroborated in the cold, clear light of day. The transcripts of the trial, save only those pieces which could harm others (i.e. the classified portions) are, or soon will be, available. The jury has heard the evidence, has passed its sentence, has recommended the penalty which has now been assessed. And this has happened before all the world, not because America wanted to do so, but because it could do no other that to permit, even to encourage, the revelation of the crimes, the actors and the punishment therefor. This is the nobility I have seen. That a nation, whose leaders are often so steeped in lies and hypocrisy that it becomes difficult to sort out which is the criminal and which the politician, would, in times of direst stress, resort again to the principles of its foundation. Justice. Truth. Honor. Well done, America. Well done, indeed! |
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