To the editor:
I certainly appreciate Msgr. Paul V. Garrity’s opinion pieces and read them with interest. I read his “Prudence and Politics” (Item, February 1) over and over to examine his thoughts and logic.
I came to the conclusion that I could not agree that his proposed solution would have the beneficial effects he wanted.
First, there are four cardinal virtues: Prudence, Justice, Fortitude and Temperance.
Second, the facts seem clear. After months, if not a year, Donald Trump was proclaiming that the only way he could lose was a rigged election. He piled on all the groups who were marshaling to cheat him and insisted that the ballots were tainted and the counting corrupt. He challenged his followers, including militia and white supremacists, to make sure the Electoral College votes would be in his favor.
Rallying to their leader’s charge, Congress was breached and the chaos
lasted for hours resulting in deaths, destruction and cries of lynching and threats of killing.
And the president sat in the White House and watched it on television and did nothing to stop it. This man, who was such a law and order advocate during the Black Lives Matter protests, watched as his followers said they wanted to lynch his vice president if he voted against their wishes.
The Virtue of Justice aligned with our system of justice says no one is above the law.
John Adams, our second president, said, “We are a nation of laws, not of men.” If we decide to be prudent and not address this issue right now, then what message do we send to those patriots who defend the union now as their forebearers have done through long and sometimes bitter times?
What is the message to those who march for Justice’s sake, many of them young people looking for a more just society, and thousands of others, Black, brown, white — who look to their government for peace and justice?
Do they join the naysayers who deride them saying, “didn’t I tell you that whitey always wins?” Does this give the mob and white supremacists carte blanche to continue their campaigns of hate?
The Virtue of Fortitude gives us the strength to do the right thing when we are faced with difficult decisions. And the virtue of Temperance allows us to temper justice with mercy when appropriate.
John Coleman Walsh, Esq.
Lynn
