Do As You Would Be Done By
Justice flows from due process and the benefit of the doubt
The spirit of justice has been undermined by recent efforts of the current administration to deport those it has identified as dangerous criminals without allowing for judicial procedures that many contend are required by law. At the same time, pundits and critics refuse to grant the administration the benefit of the doubt about its good intentions and stated argument that there is proof that those being deported deserve to be deported. Both sides debating the justice of the matter are violating the ethical standard of “doing to others as you would be done by”, a standard that sustains the American system of justice and rests on Judeo-Christian principles.
As a layman, both in matters canonical and juridical, I approach questions of fairness and justice from a decidedly unsophisticated perspective. I take instruction on ethics from the Bible as interpreted by wiser Christians such as Bonhoeffer, Lewis, and Avery Dulles. I take instruction on justice from the Constitution as interpreted by SCOTUS opinions written not for the legal clerisy but the educated layman. Which leads to the unremarkable yet noteworthy conclusion that to understand the Constitutional order in which we Americans live, breathe, and have our being, one must have more than a glancing familiarity with Hebrew and Christian Scripture, also known as the Old and New Testaments.
On this day in the Catholic liturgical calendar, Friday in the third week of Lent, the Gospel reading at Mass from Matthew relates the story of Jesus of Nazareth responding to a question about which is the greatest commandment by quoting chapter 6, verse 5 of Deuteronomy. He then expanded his answer with a quotation from Leviticus, chapter 19, verse 18. This firmly establishes that when we speak of Christian ethical standards, we speak of Judaeo-Christian ethical standards, for Christianity’s ethical standards are derived from Judaism’s. Thus, Western standards of justice and proper conduct in the public sphere are founded on Judaeo-Christian standards that antedate all the extant Western, or Westernized, nation-states. The concept of justice in English common law and in the US Constitution is founded on Judaeo-Christian standards.
We in the United States are the heirs of this rich moral and ethical tradition that considers each person to be of equal dignity and value as is every other person because each of us is created in the image and likeness of God. That equal dignity and value demands that we treat another as we would like to be treated, to be given an opportunity to defend ourselves from accusations made against us, to not be summarily charged, convicted, and sentenced without any chance to present evidence and witnesses to refute the charges against us. Likewise, we expect to be given the benefit of the doubt in daily interactions with others, though we often forget to do likewise towards others.
As the administration presses forward with its laudable goal of removing violent criminals and anti-American activists from the US, it must be careful not to throw out the baby of Justice with the bath water of violence in word and deed. Likewise, as members of the Federal Judiciary insist on respecting the justice standards of the US that rest on the principle of equal justice before the law, they should not presume that the Administration is attempting to usurp the proper application of the US system of justice. Both sides need to de-personalize their rhetoric and speak plainly and respectfully about the other’s arguments, giving to each other the benefit of the doubt just as the US justice system rests on the presumption of innocence of the accused.
Alas, far too many political pundits and practitioners of the law have been swept up into the secular utilitarian mindset that “the ends justify the means”. No, never. How one behaves in striving to accomplish a praiseworthy outcome matters as much as attaining the laudable outcome. The rhetoric that calls for “doing whatever works” leads to the abuse of fundamental human rights, not just of alleged criminals, but for all of us. It leads to disrespectful treatment of our fellow human beings, to hasty decisions that may cause harm to the innocence, and a chipping away at Judaeo-Christian ethical standards that are the foundation of the American Republic.