United States President Donald Trump has pardoned those arrested and convicted for the January 2021 riots at the US capitol. There were more than 1,500 cases linked to the events of that day, when his supporters tried to prevent Congress from formalizing the victory of then-president elect Joseph Biden. They stormed the capitol, resulting in the death of at least five individuals in the days following the attack. Police officers and other federal enforcers were also attacked by rioters.
The blanket pardon, one of Trump’s first executive actions when he returned to the White House, freed all of those who had been jailed and now puts into question the veracity of the findings by the January 6 committee.
This development highlights governments’ unfortunate tendency to view right and wrong relatively, depending on who exactly is in power.
It’s a tendency shared by governments in general, and the Philippines is not an exception.
For example, there is much talk these days about the impeachment of the Vice President on the ground of betrayal of public trust, among others. The opacity in the use of public funds by the OVP and the Department of Education, which the VP also headed, plus the defiance and arrogance the office exhibited when questioned about these funds, gave way to the multiple complaints filed by different groups.
Similarly, evidence uncovered and admissions made with regard to the war on drugs during the previous administration has attracted the keen attention of the International Criminal Court. These acts enjoyed the protection and even encouragement of the previous administration as a way to establish peace and order. In another time, however, and under a different set of leaders, these deeds take on a different character. That the end does not justify the means is the more prevalent thought.
There is no dearth of other examples from previous administrations as well. Indeed, the expression “weather weather lang” has rung, true then and now.
We wonder when our society would be able to achieve the kind of moral continuity that allows the people to see acts for their inherent value. Actions are, on their own, either right or wrong, no matter their timing, no matter the administration under which they have been committed, and no matter the political consequences of holding the guilty to account.
An assault on democracy, or violence against others, or misuse of public funds, or extrajudicial killings are acts that are reprehensible regardless of who committed them, and regardless of the political consequences of obtaining justice for them. Mere timing should not magnify or diminish the graveness of these acts’ consequences.
