| We start this post with this quote: The part I took in defense of captain Preston and the soldiers, procured me anxiety, and obloquy enough. It was, however, one of the most gallant, generous, manly and disinterested actions of my whole life, and one of the best pieces of service I ever rendered my country. If you're a student of history, you already know where it comes from. For the rest of you, fast forward to Michigan's airwaves, today. "My son is a hero and fought to protect us," Joseph says in the ad. "Bridget McCormack volunteered to help free a terrorist. How could you?" I don't speak ill of mourning family members regardless of the kind of tragedy involved. I will, however, speak ill of those who exploit mourning family members, and in this case it's the Judicial Crisis Network. We get back to the original quote, the origin of which many of you already know. It's part of what John Adams wrote in his journal on his occassion of representing the British soldiers accused of perpetrating the Boston Massacre. Back then, in pure terms, the British were the occupiers and the Americans would go on to be the homegrown terrorists. But, John Adams didn't care about that. John Adams believed that everyone was entitled to a robust defense and a fair trial, which is why he put his reputation and career on the line defending British soldiers accused of gunning down civilians in cold blood. He was mostly successful in getting them off, by the way, and none of this stopped him from becoming this nation's second president. I'll leave it to you to decipher what it means that a movement that has deified the likes of Adams would turn on what Adams really did and what he really stood for. The Judicial Crisis Network appears to not believe in the right of the accused to a fair hearing. I will point out that there's a difference in saying you cherish something, and actually cherishing it through your works. Patriots defend the accused of unpopular crimes because it's the Constitutional right of the accused to a rigorous defense. Shirkers and inciters of mobs howl at them from the sidelines. |
