Empty words, deadly vengeance

MARK WILSON/NEWSMAKERS John Ashcroft, BR '64, calls himself pro-life but nonetheless supports the death penalty.

The American people have long grown accustomed to a politics of slick ambiguities, airbrushed press photos, and fined-tuned speeches tailored to alienate as few people as possible. One of the most manipulated gimmicks is the ubiquitous "pro/anti" label—the politician's quick and painless way to align with any broad popular cause without ever having to explain or justify himself further.

No "pro/anti" term has been more abused than "pro-life." Like many things political, this label is a chameleon. "Pro-life" may be vaguely disguised as "anti-death," "pro-anti-death," "anti-pro-choice," or (and this one is rather remarkable) "pro-anti-choice." What "pro-life" or any of its variations actually means remains largely unknown, but it is often used as a way of saying "anti-abortion" without actually using such divisive language. When then-Texas Governor George W. Bush, DC '68, was asked in the presidential debates if he was "pro-life," after skirting more direct questions about abortion rights, he simply shrugged his shoulders, smiled, and said, "Sure, I'm pro-life."

Rev. Pat Robertson, the arch-conservative head of the Christian Coalition, noted last year that "Pro-life means across the board, not just anti-abortion...[This] makes it seem legitimate for other social conservatives to rethink the death penalty." "Imperative" would be more appropriate than "legitimate," but it is encouraging that some people are finally beginning to reflect on the real meaning of "pro-life"—a buzzword long used by many, including the man who is now our president, to rally against abortion while ignoring, or blatantly supporting, capital punishment. America must be hopelessly drunk on euphemisms, for there is no other way that a governor who sanctioned dozens of executions could possibly get away with calling himself "pro-life."

Religious leaders, perhaps because they are still sometimes above the political fray, have been invaluable in exposing this hypocrisy. As Roman Catholic Cardinal Anthony Bevilaqua, the head of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, noted, "It is a fundamental teaching...that every human life is sacred from conception to natural death...even the life of one who, in the most horrendous manner, has taken the life of another." Fellow Cardinal Roger Mahony was more direct: "A nation that relies on vengeance is in serious moral trouble."

The death penalty so ardently defended by Bush and countless other "pro-lifers" reflects little more than revenge in its most primitive form. Despite protestations to the contrary, executions are more than a simple effort to deter future crime. Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, a man who murdered 169 people, wrote two weeks ago that the U.S. government should, "hold a true public execution [and] allow a public broadcast." McVeigh's seemingly perverse suggestion contains a hollow irony: Attorney General John Ashcroft, BR '64, who also describes himself as "pro-life,", announced that the execution would, in fact, be shown to families of the victims via "state-of-the-art video conferencing." Rather than controlling the vice of vengeance, our government, through such actions, fuels it. When authorities could help end the cycle of death started by criminals like McVeigh, they instead help it continue.

The burden falls on those who are truly "pro-life" to stop this deplorable degradation of human dignity. The U.S. today ranks fifth in the world in number of people executed per year, positioning us slightly behind Iran and ahead of Afghanistan. This record is abysmal. Rather than continuing to hide behind rhetorical devices, it is time for all Americans—especially those who label themselves "pro-life"—to take a stance on principle.

In condemning the death penalty in the U.S., Tenzin Gyatso, the Dalai Lama, remarked that, "We need to explain the importance of the practice of love and compassion for our own survival and to try to minimize those conditions which foster murderous tendencies." It is high time for those of us who place faith in the sanctity of the human person to heed and act upon his words.

Daniel Kruger is a freshman in Timothy Dwight.

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