Aristotelean Trepidation

Aristotelean Trepidation

By the end of any given day, someone, somewhere in the country will have been arrested for shoplifting something they can fit in their pocket or hide under their clothes. It will most likely be an item of relatively little value, maybe under $100 or so. This person will probably be fined or sent to jail, depending if he or she had been caught before. This hardly seems fair.

It hardly seems fair, that is, when punishment for such an insignificant crime as petty theft is understood in the context of the absence of punishment for substantially more horrific offenses of a similar nature.

Stealing is “bad.” But, is the average citizen harmed by shoplifting? It is true shoplifting results in higher prices for everyone because the losses from stolen merchandise must be recovered. No one wants to pay higher prices, however, the average citizen is not really significantly harmed by shoplifting.

On the other hand, the crimes of theft and fraud as committed by the super-thieves of Wall Street have brutally harmed the average citizen. While the pathetic shoplifter stole a few dollars of merchandise from a company, this sodality of the super-thieves of Wall Street stole the entire company, or at least multi-millions of dollars from it paying themselves obscene bonuses. They knowingly placed excessively risky bets on “not-understood assets” (now known as “toxic assets”) using other people’s money entrusted to their care. The losses of millions of jobs, 25%-50% of home equity, 50% of 401k value, the loss of homes, the destruction of lives, and suicides obviously cannot be compared to the inconsequential shoplifter’s pathetic crime.

Of far greater import and magnitude, the super-thieves of Wall Street, while committing their crimes of Theft and Fraud, also committed the crimes of Treason and Terror. The question then becomes, why are the super-thieves a.k.a. treasonous individuals, terrorists, and con-artists who are guilty of the crimes listed in the above paragraph, not prosecuted and punished?

Treason, defined by Webster’s as “the betrayal of one’s own country by waging war against it,” is a capital offense. Treason is clearly involved here because the government has substantially less ability to pay for critically needed defense modernization and upgrading because funds must be diverted to repair the carnage to the country’s financial infra-structure produced by these ruthless, selfish, super-thieves. This significantly compromises the country’s ability to defend itself which could actually threaten the country’s existence in time of war. These super-thieves should be tried and punished to the full extent of the law. While this may sound extreme, it would be very un-wise to consider it so without a solid grasp of the continuously fragile and volatile world order and the already diminished readiness status of our armed forces. The United States nuclear weapons stockpile is obsolete and urgently needs upgrading. All of the Armed Service branches need massive technical and equipment modernization, as well as enormous training for their forces. These Wall Street super-thieves are specifically enemies of the United States and guilty of treason.

Terrorism is also clearly at issue here. Terrorize is defined by Webster’s as “to fill or overpower with terror.” The average citizen is filled with great fear for his or her own well-being and the very survival of the country itself. Is this not the aim of the Osama Bin Laden’s and other terrorists? While the tragic and massive loss of life on 9-ll cannot be compared with the financial instability wrought by the super-thieves of Wall Street, the fact remains that the country is effectively terrorized unless, if one were to dispute this conclusion, they wish to challenge the definition of terror according to Webster’s. This, too, is a crime for which the super-thieves of Wall Street should be punished. Once again, if this seems extreme, consider the final chapters of the current Depression are not yet written, and one can only guess what may be the dire events yet to come. This Depression was specifically caused by the super-thieves because their greed and selfishness totally destroyed the confidence in the country’s financial system and the government itself. While Mr. Obama enjoys a very high approval rating which is well deserved, the average citizen has lost confidence in the government itself. The governments failure, even refusal, to aggressively prosecute and punish the Wall Street super-thieves clearly delivers the message that its okay to steal and de-fraud investors, holders of 401k’s, home-owners etc. There will be no punishment if the thief steals on a large enough scale and can hire equally loathsome attorneys to prevent his punishment.

Does anyone in government read history? Do judges even know how to read? If there is no punishment for the crime, then there will be a crime. “The generality of men are naturally apt to be swayed by fear rather than by reverence, and to refrain from evil rather because of the punishment that it brings, than because of its own foulness.”
(Aristotle 384 – 322 B.C.) A strong philosophy and aggressive policy of “Aristotelean Trepidation” is mandatory for the government to write into law to help prevent similar crises in the future. In other words, “if you do bad things, bad things will happen to you.”

Once treason and terrorism are brought into the context of the crimes committed by the super-thieves of Wall Street, further discussing their base crimes of theft and fraud could seem redundant or over-zealous. This would be the case were it not, again, for the magnitude of their crimes and their brutal impact on the lives of millions of innocent people. If these people were business thieves and frauds working in China, they would be brought to trial and executed for their crimes against the state as well as the theft and fraud. Again, consider the magnitude of suffering they have caused, the compromise of the country’s defensive capability, the millions of people affected, and the wide-spread misery they have spread throughout the country. For now, it appears we must live with the incompetence of our own legal system. It is of little comfort to know: “The judge is condemned when the criminal is absolved.” (Publilius Syrus, Circa 42 B.C.) Of course, the criminals first have to be brought to trial. As of today, March 12, 2009, it appears there is some stirring within the Justice Department and state Attorney’s General to at least prosecute some of these criminals for fraud and theft. But, that is not enough.

When people, especially those in fiduciary positions involving other people’s trust, betray that sacred trust and steal from those who trust them, they are the lowest of all life forms. That is not a matter of idealism and narrow-mindedness. The reason these horrific crimes by the super-thieves of Wall Street must be aggressively prosecuted by the government is that confidence will not be restored in the financial system or the country itself without the assurance to the public that massive Treason, Terrorism, Theft, and Fraud will not be allowed to happen. Only when the average citizen again feels confident about investing and participating in the financial infrastructure will the country recover. The following observation may be applied to both Wall Street and the government who must prosecute these criminals: “Whoever has even once become notorious by base fraud, even if he speaks the truth, gains no belief.” (Phaedrus Circa A.D. 8)

James Wharton
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