Sharon Kennedy: Committing crimes without consequences

In “Rhetoric,” Aristotle postulated that when men commit crimes, “Either they think they can do wrong without being found out, or if they are found out they can escape being punished or if they are punished the disadvantage will be less than what they gain. Their confidence is greater when they possess … a great deal of money … and are on good terms with the judges who try them. … Even if found out, they feel they can stave off a trial or have it postponed or corrupt the judges. … If sentenced, they can avoid or postpone paying damages. … The advantage to be gained is greater than retribution. … The crimes bring profit while punishment is nothing more than being called bad names.”

How many readers think the former president studied Aristotle and is aware of his teachings? I don’t believe that prospect is very likely, but I wouldn’t doubt if Roger Stone and Steve Bannon had based their strategies for Trump’s presidency on the bones of long-dead masters of rhetoric. Or maybe it was Roy Cohn who encouraged a young Donald to never tell the truth when a lie would do. Regardless, for months now we’ve watched a game of cat-and-mouse between No. 45 and the U.S. Department of Justice. If you or I had illegal possession of highly classified documents, how long do you think the government would have tolerated our reluctance to return all of them? Would we, as private citizens, have been capable of evading a deposition or a courtroom showdown?

I’ve been watching Trump’s rallies where he endorses candidates running for secretary of state. Among others, Mark Finchem of Arizona and Jim Marchant of Nevada have pledged to ensure the midterm elections are fair and free of corruption, leaving no doubt they remain faithful to the Big Lie. In the “Save America” rally of Oct. 9, Marchant’s exact words were: “We’re gonna fix the whole country and President Trump’s gonna be president again in 2024.” Such a blatant statement leaves no doubt what Trump Republicans are planning if elected to positions of power.

The midterms are two weeks away. If we want to retain any semblance of a democratic state, it’s crucial for voters to conduct serious research and find the best candidates for the job. This precludes voting for the ones who yell the loudest and are drunk on the idea of gaining unlimited, unchecked power as they follow in 45’s footsteps and parrot his phony rhetoric.

What difference does it make, you might ask. Who cares about a secretary of state, a senator, a congressman or a local or state official? The ones we have now are no good. Everything was great before Biden took over. Sure, he might have won the popular and Electoral College votes, but we know the voting machines were rigged and poll workers fiddled with ballots that put the strawman in office. Our president did nothing wrong. He’s entitled to keep whatever documents he wants because they’re his, not the government’s. He’s being unfairly treated. He’s the only one who can reduce gas and food prices and end the Russian attack on Ukraine. He’ll arrest the Biden gang and apologize to his friend, Putin, for all the deaths caused by the Biden administration. We need our hero now more than ever.

When I hear such statements uttered by intelligent people, it’s obvious we’re in big trouble. Aristotle knew power corrupts. Why can’t we grasp that fact and stuff the genie back in his bottle?

— To contact Sharon Kennedy, send her an email at authorsharonkennedy.com. Kennedy's new book, "View from the SideRoad: A Collection of Upper Peninsula Stories," is available from her or Amazon.

This article originally appeared on The Sault News: Sharon Kennedy: Committing crimes without consequences