Zacarias Moussaoui was sentenced to life imprisonment on Wednesday.  When I heard the news, I felt a profound sense of relief.  It reaffirmed my faith that there are still parts of our civil society that are impervious not simply to the hate and intolerance of our enemies but to the bad-faith and mean-spirit so pervasive in our own public life.  Simply put if Zacaria Moussaoui had been put to death, the terrorists would have won.

No doubt the verdict of life imprisonment instead of death must have been inexplicable to Moussaoui himself -- Moussaoui who seemed so hell-bent on achieving "martyr" status at the hands of an American executioner.  And certainly the Justice Department of George Bush did everything in its power to accomodate him.   It was a perfect match.

Culture of Punishment 

George Bush as governor of Texas never saw a Death Warrant he didn't like.  The fact that he rarely spent more than 30 minutes going over one before rubberstamping it indicates someone either unwilling or unable to go beyond the surface even when someone's life was at stake.  Devoid of empathy, the world of George Bush had no capacity to understand the motives and conseqences of people's actions.  What distinguished it instead was its relentless willingness to punish first and ask questions later.

It was particularly unfortunate then that he was president at the time of 9/11.  Our adversaries don't realize their luck.  No other president perhaps in our entire history was more ill-equiped to deal with the challenge.  Even his most ardent defenders now acknowledge this. 

But perhaps the worse consequence is the sense of vindictiveness and urge to get even that's always at full-throttle no matter who or what we have in our hands.  This attitude poisons the atmosphere and blame for its development can be laid entirely at the door of George Bush and his party -- a group, it should be pointed out, who historically have used the presence whether real or imagined of an outside threat to do precisely the same thing in earlier episodes which we've lived to regret.

The Case of Zacarias Moussaoui

Which brings us back to Zacarias Moussaoui.  This person was obviously out of his mind.  On the other hand, he's shown himself consistently reasonable at times.  He may have been connected with the terrorists who blew up the WTC but he wasn't immediately involved with the crime.  These considerations make no difference of course to the zealots on the right who see him as a convenient stand-in for the actual perpetrators of the crime and who for that reason will settle for nothing less than his head on a platter.

The jury thought otherwise.  And now the world knows, and we can congratulate ourselves at least in this case, that we do not simply put to death every individual who happens to fall into our hands.  For Moussaoui, an endless incarceration in our jails is probably a worse fate than a fast exit by way of lethal injection.  But what really matters, beyond the outcome, is the fairness and justice of the process itself.  And that no one can impugn -- not even Moussaoui himself.

Rule of Law

Michael Dukakis was famously asked at a Presidential Debate what he'd do if his wife were raped and murdered.  He completely flubbed the response.  What he should have said is that he'd want to murder the guy responsible for this but that he'd hope someone would be there holding him back.

In rule by law, it's not the need for revenge that must be satisfied but the need for justice.  The reason for this is simple: Collectively, we need as a society to be able to get up in the morning and look at ourselves in the mirror.  That's what this verdict provides us with.

Even more, we can use it to fight our adversaries in a way that they are totally unable to respond.  It's the advantage that any free and democratic people have in a conflict over tyranny.  To take life is something they understand.  Indeed, this understanding is something they share with our own domestic zealots.  But to refrain from taking life -- that represents a whole different level of operation.  And if it's lost on them, it certainly isn't lost on the rest of the world.

Clever v. Honest, Great v. Good 

Garrison Keiler once spoke at one of these Press Association Dinners.  He told the reporters that it's really hard being clever and interesting all the time.  It's something they'd find hard to substain in the long run and that instead, if they hoped to survive, that they should simply concentrate on being honest.

We once had Lyndon Johnson proclaim the "Great Society".  I think the same dynamic is in effect.  If we wish to substain ourselves over the long run, it's probably best if we concentrate on simply being 'good'.

Moussaoui claimed at his sentencing that he had "won" and America had lost.  The opposite is true.  The system worked and we can all be proud of it.