The Rule of Law, Checks and Balances, Accountability, Equal Justice Under the Law???

Honestly I don't like to promote anyone spending time in prison. It doesn't do much good and has very rarely met it's stated goal of rehabilitation. We all know that and accept it. It has a sordid history, including the belief by early Quakers that by throwing a man in a cell with a bible everything would work out. Eventually many more cells were needed and the bibles were eliminated. We built a system of 'justice' based on skin color and privilege.

Paul Manafort's sentencing to 47 months in Federal Prison raises questions we all knew were looming as the Mueller investigation played itself out over the airwaves and in the press. Do we have a system of justice that can handle the reality of political corruption and foreign influence at the highest levels of government? How flawed is our system of government and will it survive? Yes, those and many more serious questions need to be asked and answered.

There are those who like to point out the importance of the Rule of Law and how it is the glue, the foundation of our government. However every day we see examples of this Rule of Law not working and not being enforced by and for the privileged class. Laws and regulations are ignored and their violations flaunted. That is the reality that we all see.

When it happens, we are told that there are checks and balances. In government that's why we have an executive, legislative and judicial branch. How are those checks and balances working out? How successful can it be when the executive corrupts the legislative and judicial branches? Could the founders have imagined the level of corruption that has evolved in our government over the years? It may have been little by little at first but eventually has been  in large gulps? As it all plays out, no matter what the outcome, the gullible are told that the system is working.

Accountability is touted as the ultimate solution to all of this. Eventually, either through the courts or elections, people will be held accountable. I am less and less sure of that. Part of Donald Trump's and his party's legacy will be the complete dismantling of the concept of accountability. If you watch closely, you can see it and feel it in action. The Grand Old Party justifies the corruption. The Democrats are not without blame. They talk a good game but are slow to act.

But it gets worse. We have to stop promoting the false value of equal justice under the law. It just isn't true and hasn't't been for many, many years, probably since the inception of the United States government. Remember, this country was formed by slave owners. Remember, women were not included as voting members of society. Remember, our prisons are filled with poor people and people of color. Equal justice under the law may in fact be an ideal value that our country is striving for but we are certainly not there yet and in fact may be going down a road that is taking us further and further from the goal. We can't look each other in the eye and say there is equal justice under the law.

Paul Manafort's sentence is a reality check of sorts. It reminds us that white collar crime is more acceptable than regular old street crime. It reminds us that white privilege certainly does exist and that old white men judged by other old white men will do fairly well in the scheme of things. It reminds us that the system is far from working equally. It reminds us that the 1% are very good at protecting themselves with their money and their power.

So what do we do? Good question and I certainly don't have any complete answers. I do think we need to show our outrage. I think Judges like Judge Ellis do need to be held accountable. Perhaps a vote for his impeachment by the House of Representatives would begin to send a message. There is also a more radical approach tied to our stated value of equal justice under the law. Let's reduce the sentences of everyone in Federal Prisons to 47 months, empty lots of cells and save billions of dollars. It's no crazier than what we're seeing play out before our eyes every day.