Leaders on trial: a sinner and a criminal
Published on Sunday, December 6th 1998 on The San Juan StarWe are witnessing some rather interesting events these days. We are seeing world leaders being held responsible for their deeds and misdeeds. On the one hand, we are seeing a Latin American…well…yes, dictator, the kind that think that they can get away with murder –literally– being held accountable for…yes, murder. What is most interesting about this event is that it will set a precedent which, if successful, will bring a new era to mankind. We are entering into an era when one nation will bring to trial the leader of another, pass judgement upon that leader, and punish accordingly. Now world leaders who thought that they only had their own to worry about –and suppress and disregard– will have to start looking out the window. And it won't be a matter of just staying home to feel safe. Look at what happened to Manuel Antonio Noriega Morena in his own house. We went to Panama to pick him up and give him a helicopter ride.
Well, ailing and aging Pomp and Circumstance practitioner Augusto Pinochet had a bad back. He went to London to get it fixed. The Spaniards wanted him under arrest. The Chileans want him back in Chile. The U.S. is offering the Spaniards the release of some secret documents as evidence to strengthen their case. Pinochet is either going to be set free with that much maligned privilege of diplomatic immunity or is going to wind up in a court room in Spain; having been brought there by the British; facing American evidence; to respond to charges on events that happened in Chile; to Spanish citizens. The French also want to get into the act. And, oh, yes, some Chileans too. He is going to wish he had stayed home and taken some aspirin. This trial, if televised, will have more viewers than the World Cup for soccer. I can't imagine what may be going through the minds of some who may feel safely at home like Fidel Castro, or some who may be on the lam like Carlos Salinas de Gortari. Noriega must be thinking, "Been there, Done that!"
On the other hand, we have a U. S. world leader that is being held responsible for lying about a tryst. Perjury on hanky-panky. I'm sure that there is an absolute standard for perjury. Perjury is perjury, after all. But somewhere in the realm of comedy there must be a category for perjury about murder, perjury about misappropriation of funds, or perjury about misappropriation of feminine natural resources. Well, President Bill Clinton, who has more time for sport than I thought, was caught at some hanky-panky and that has launched one of the most extensive and expensive special prosecution investigations since Nixon's Watergate. For those of you who are too young to remember, Watergate was about dirty politics and dirty power play. It was about crime. Really.
The beauty of Clinton's tryst is that it will allow for a slight deviation in the strategy of the House Judiciary Committee, which intends to hammer Clinton one way or another. The Committee is no longer wondering about what consenting adult male-female dynamics went on and who tried to keep it private from whom by lying about it. It is now big pay dirt. It is now about campaign funds. Wow!
Let me share some profound secrets with my readers. Troops, there are categories of sin. Sin is sin, yes. Lying is lying, yes. Perjury is perjury, yes. But there are some roles in life that should shield you from sin. Like being president, or governor, or legislator, or mayor. I can assure you that holding elected office is the first step towards canonization. Once elected, men no longer covet women. Greed ceases with the swearing in ceremony. Public officials become holy once elected. T'would be nice! But it just does not happen. Saying that Clinton should be holy is like what is happening to some major churches that preach perfection to an imperfect parishioner. Instead they should preach that salvation can be sought in spite of the fact that all of us are imperfect and sinners. But sin is not a crime, and not all sinners are criminals. Of course the House Judiciary Committee would like to exploit campaign fund practices! Ilegal campaign fund practices can be viewed as a crime, and crime is a more common and understandable ground to them than sin. They can impeach for crimes, but they cannot impeach for sin.
My very personal opinion is that in the current tribulations of these two world leaders, Augusto Pinochet and William Clinton, one is about to be tried for crimes, one is being tried for sin. Not quite the same thing. No one should be above the law when it comes to crime. But no one should be made a criminal because he sinned. A sequel of sin is shame, and a sequel of shame is not wanting to admit it. Some very clever prosecutor might exploit this and trap you into a corner where you might not want to admit your sin. And, wham! Not admitting your sin becomes a crime –becomes perjury– and then he's got you by… whatever led you to sin in the first place.
I have a vague recollection of someone, some time ago, saying something to the effect of "He who is without sin, let him cast the first stone." He didn't say crime, He just said sin.
Let's just get on with the rest of our lives. Let the criminals stand trial. And let the sinners go to confession.