Mercy is a Christian virtue. Were it not for mercy from God, I would be unbelievably screwed. Were it not for mercy from other people, I would be equally screwed right now.
Douglas Kern wrote in today's TCS column (with many Lord of the Rings and Star Wars metaphors) that mercy should not be used recklessly, or the consequences can be disastrous:
1983: after defeating Darth Vader in mortal combat, Luke Skywalker walks away from his cringing foe, casting his lightsaber away to confront the Emperor with his newly-found self-righteousness, all while ignoring the screams of a small boy in the theater: "Luke, you moron, pick up your lightsaber and stab the Emperor in the face!"
2002: after capturing Gollum, Frodo talks Sam out of killing the miserable goblin with some newly-found rhetorical self-righteousness, all while ignoring the pleas of a man in the theater: "Frodo, I know Jackson is trying to be faithful to the book and all, but take Sting and stab Gollum in the face!"
2005: Anakin Skywalker is sliced up and fried like a filet mignon at a Japanese steakhouse, and Obi-wan Kenobi is strolling away like he's been on a particularly trying nature hike, ignoring the yelling of an irate Internet pundit: "Obi-wan, screw the Episode Four continuity, and take your lightsaber and stab Anakin in the face!"
This is the Lesson of Munich. Evil must be confronted and destroyed before it grows:
Evil can seduce the small and mighty alike. Mercy makes allowances for the weakness of will that afflicts all men. But some men embrace evil as a lover. Every police officer and prosecutor encounters a few such men: soulless abominations that delight in torment, betrayal, and wanton suffering. Such men have murdered whatever good they might have offered the world. They defile whatever mercy is given them. They deserve none.
Who can doubt that men can commit themselves to evil? If free will allows us to bind ourselves permanently to our spouses, and our children, and our nation, and to all good things, then surely we can use free will to bind ourselves permanently to the terrible and depraved things of the world.
To be sure, not every evil deed reflects an irrevocable bond to evil -- any more than every good deed reflects an irrevocable bond to the good. We may have prudent reasons to suffer the existence of the tremendously twisted, and mercy may impel us to refrain from handing down the full punishment that evil deserves.
But while we can all be forgiven, we must respect the choice to reject forgiveness -- permanently. Mercy is for seduced sinners; for those not wholly given over to darkness. When we find men who have freely bound themselves to evil with unbreakable chains of their own forging, a decent respect for justice and free will sometimes compels us to stab these monsters in the face.
Of course the flip side is the Lesson of Vietnam: not every monster will destroy you, and sometimes it's best to leave them alone. The hard part is distinguishing Vietnams from Munichs.
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
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2 comments:
I agree that mercy doesn't mean we reject justice or forego punishment. However, there's nothing else in that quote that sounds remotely Christian to me. To say that there are some who deserve no mercy is dangerous. Where is Christ in his argument?
Re: Darth Vader, after seeing the new movie I went home and watched the last half hour of Jedi, and what most moved me was when Luke was dragging his father's body to the ship and he said, I have to save you, Father, and Darth Vader said: You already have.
Some who are evil will never repent or convert and may lose their souls, but didn't Christ die for them too? And for those who do repent, can we not condemn their previous crimes but give thanks for the wideness of God's mercy?
I agree that the argument is not Christian, but secular. But true, nonetheless.
But Kern is right that it is unwise to say to the child molestor or murderer "We have mercy on you and you're free to go." We can be grateful that God forgives all sinners (all equally bad in his sight), but that doesn't mean that we can let criminals escape earthly punishment.
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