I am convinced that the concept of justice is woven in the fabric of everyone. There is some underlying value that everyone possesses—it sounds a little alarm when injustice is committed. I don’t have any “scientific” proof of this but to understand this, randomly hit someone. If they don’t swing back, they will say something like, “What did I do to you? … So what did you hit me for?”
We intrinsically understand that actions should determine consequences. If you do something bad, then something bad should happen in return. Conversely, if you do something good, you should receive good in return. Of course, the definition of good and bad varies widely from person to person and from time to time. But that’s another story for another day.
I was reminded of this fact today when I read of Ken Lay’s death. Several months ago, Lay was convicted of fraud related to the fall of Enron. Whether or not he was guilty, I can’t conclude, but he was found guilty before the law, so I will have to assume that he did commit fraud. He was scheduled for sentencing this fall, and he was likely to receive a lengthy (20 years or so) term in prison.
But that was all put on hold today as they wheeled his body into the coroner’s office. Lay was dead, and he is now subject to judgment on all that he did during his life. Of course, this is from Christian perspective, but what about other religions. Assuming he was a bad person, every major religion includes the concept of judgment for the actions of earth. (I.e. If you think prison is bad, that would be terrible). And assuming an atheistic perspective, his life is over, arguably the worst possible punishment: cessation of existence.
So I was very surprised to read that former Enron employee, Sherri Saunders, said that Lay “got off easy.” I wondered…where is the mercy?
I didn’t lose any money in the Enron scandal. I don’t know what it felt like. But it seems to be a sad harbinger of society when people clamor for more justice than death. I mean, who better to deal with injustice than God (remember, most of the country still believes in God). And secondly, what better punishment is there than death.
But it seems that society has devolved into this strange bloodlust, always seeking to make others pay for what they have done. We want to see their pain. We want to see them writhe in agony as the punishment for their sins against us. Sure, most people wouldn’t say “sin,” but the concept boils down to that.
You see, we all crave justice for the wrongs committed against us. And we want to see the criminals punished. But there is a strange dichotomy: why do we keep saying that violent criminals should be rehabilitated? Why do we blame their problems on a rough childhood? Aren’t they to be held responsible for their actions? And aren’t the people they hurt in need of justice as well?
This seems to be another indicator of the strange deconstructivist nature of society today. The absolutes have been replaced by the relatives, and as well all know, if it happens to me it is worse. We have become so terribly narcissistic that we seek the delights of ourselves in spite of the obvious nature of reality: the world does not revolve around ourselves.
Sure, Lay did some bad things, and he hurt lots of people. But to be disappointed that he didn’t suffer enough—that’s terrible.
And sad.