Image of God:
“But, friend Euthyphro, if that which is holy is the same with that which is dear to God, and is loved because it is holy, then that which is dear to God would have been loved as being dear to God; but if that which is dear to God is dear to him because it is loved by him, then that which is holy would have been holy because it is loved by him.”ii
-Plato as Socrates (Euthyphro)
“You met with the president because you wanted to do the right thing?” Zack asked as he sat in the judges seat once again.
Elliot leaned back, “I don’t know what else I can say.”
Zack shook his head, “Then I guess we just have to sit here until that phone rings again.”
“While we sit, can I have a sheet of paper and a pen?” the senator asked hesitantly.
“Why?”
Elliot looked at him, “Because I don’t know if I will make it out of here and I want to write to my wife and daughter just in case.”
Zack got up and took a blank leaf of paper from the folder. Handing it to him, Zack warned, “Don’t try anything stupid or I will make sure you never see them again.”
“… I can promise one thing,” the president assured the public as he stood in front of the courthouse, “Zack Bellicosus will be brought to justice and we will pass new legislation ensuring a greater degree of public safety on all federal and state grounds. For those who have lost a loved one today, my heart is with you and with those hostages still inside. This is not right.”
As he finished, Casey and his partner returned. They stepped out of the car and gave a full report.
There was a crowd of journalists and television reporters yelling out, hoping to get a question to the president, and, above the noise of the rest of the crowd one question was heard, “Mr. President, why would a simple education bill lead to murder?”
The detectives looked on as the president stepped into his vehicle behind the official microphones and a representative addressed the eager reporters, “The president has no further comments at this time. Thank you all for coming.”
“Casey. Daniels. With me.” They walked with their superior officer, “The president said that he wants to cooperate fully with the investigation since he did meet with Senator Elliot before the murder. I want you to go question him at this address.” He handed Casey a piece of paper and walked away.
The two detectives went back to the car and drove to the address.
Elliot finished his note and handed it to Zack, who read it through.
“Interesting,” Zack placed the note in his pocket, “you are a very good father.” He turned and faced his hostages, “I have a question for you all. How can we know that what we do is right?”
The courtroom sat in silence and the entire nation watched the live television stream as Zack waited for an answer, “No one? I was being prosecuted because someone believed they were doing the right thing by arresting me.
Senator Hardin was murdered because someone believed he was wrong and opposed what was right. Everyone watching this around the world presumes that he or she knows what is right and wrong. We all seem to have it figured out, and I’m just wondering how. Here’s the truth. I find it very difficult to determine what is right and what is wrong, but I make decisions assuming that I make the right one every day. I have my opinions and assume them to be correct no matter how many different opinions there are. I have to ask again, how can we be sure that we act rightly? Do we act because we try and do what is right, or do we think something is right because it is what we do?”
Nervous, a young woman who looked like a law student slowly raised her hand. Zack looked at her and she stuttered, “To do what is right is to do what benefits the most people…”
“So we judge what is good based on the goodness of the outcome?” Zack responded, “We are left with the same question. How do we know what actually benefits most people? We must have some notion of right and wrong before we can judge the rightness of an outcome. If that is the case, then judging the rightness of the outcome becomes just as difficult as judging the rightness of the action. It’s hard for me to believe that the end justifies any means.”
“We do what is best for us,” a young businessman added.
Zack laughed, “And how do we know what is best for us? We are still left with the same question and even more contradictions. What is best for me may not be what is best for someone else. All of the sudden, there are two completely contradictory views of what is right but both must be right according to this standard. Thus, doing what is right, whatever that is, may or may not benefit us. Ambassador, you are a wise man.” Zack looked at Luciano, “What do you think?”
Casey and Daniels walked into the building at the address given to them. The president looked disappointed when he saw them, “Hello detectives.”
They sat down and Casey asked the first question, “Mr. President, what do you know about Senator Hardin’s murder?”
He looked at Melissa before answering, “I know that Gary was a key opponent of the new education bill that was going to be pushed through congress. His murder seems to have something to do with that. Why has the case been reopened?”
“New information,” Melissa answered, “One of the theories is that the bill was drafted and was going to be pushed through by a group intent on controlling the American people, and that this machine is responsible for Hardin’s death. Is this possible?”
The president shook his head, “No. There haven’t been any significant political machines since Tweed and that was only on the municipal level. No attempt at control has ever been possible at the national level. Too many checks and balances.”
“Why did you support the bill?”
The president sighed, “It’s the right thing to do. We need better national standards if we are going to compete in the world industry forty years from now. This bill is essential to the prosperity of American culture and its people.” What he said sounded scripted, like someone else had written it for him to say.
Not knowing what else to ask, Casey thanked the president and the two detectives stood up to leave.
“I will meet you outside. I’ve got to use the restroom,” Melissa said as she went toward the restrooms.
When she came back out, her partner was outside and the President was still sitting at the table. She looked at him, “You did the right thing.” After saying this she walked out.
“I’m not so sure,” said the president under his breath as he stood and made his way to the back door.
Luciano glowered, “We can only know what is right if we have some sort of standard by which we measure rightness. If the measuring rod is self, then there can be many contradicting rightnesses which presents some problems. So what is right cannot be so simply because I think it’s right.
There must be a single measuring rod and it must be an authority over all people. If there is no such measuring rod, then there is no right and wrong.”
At this moment, something occurred to Zack that he had not thought of before. Absolute freedom for humanity leads to amorality. If an individual is absolutely free from all authority, then there is no right or wrong. Growing up in the U.S. he assumed that all men ought to be absolutely free and that any government’s place was insuring the most freedom for the most people. If people had this concept of right and wrong and believed that there was right and wrong, then those people also believed that there ought to be some sort of governing authority.
The implications of this epiphany were awe-inspiring. If there was right and wrong, then a governing authority was to defend what was right. That meant it was only to insure freedom so far as freedom was morally correct; but was individual liberty actually right? If it was, by what moral standard was the right of individual liberty defended?
Consequently, if anyone were to say that there was no right or wrong, they would necessarily contend that to differentiate between right and wrong was wrong. The argument would be self-defeating and itself would prove that there must be right and wrong, there must be authority, and a measuring rod must exist by which right and wrong could be measured.
“Where is this measuring rod?” Zack asked as he turned around and faced the senator once again.
The phone vibrated again. Zack picked it up off the table and answered it, “I hope this is Jim.”
“It is,” the negotiator responded, “The feds are here and they’ve taken over the scene. You should know that SWAT is also here and they are coming in if you don’t surrender.”
Zack was disappointed, “If the front door is opened by anyone but me, I will begin shooting hostages and we will see how many are still alive when the team gets to this courtroom. I have the strategic advantage here. Tell them not to breach.”
“They want to know what you want.”
“I will send out a hostage with a list of demands.” Zack hung up the phone.
Immediately, he took another sheet of paper and wrote something on it, folded it and asked the law student to stand up. He led her into the lobby, handed her a folded sheet of paper and told her to hand it to the police. She did.
Casey and Melissa got back to the scene just in time to look at the list of demands. A federal officer opened the note, glanced at it for a few seconds, and handed it to Casey, “Keep this on the D.L.”
The detectives walked away from the other officers and read the note together.
“I want to confess to what I’ve done, but I have to do so in this secret letter. If I say anything, my wife and daughter will betaken from me, so please use this confession to find Gary’s killer before making it public. I will serve the time necessary for my actions. I do not know who killed my friend, but I am sure that he is connected somehow with the president. I received a letter in the mail. The person who sent it was very insistent on some measures that I should add to the bill that I was drafting. After I denied his requests, he made it very clear that he could get to my family and I folded. I am also sure that Gary would not fold and it may have led to his death. I hope it’s not too late for me to do the right thing.
– Tim Elliot”
Casey looked at Melissa. There was finally a positive break in the case. Zack had been telling the truth. He looked for his phone, and after checking both pockets and saying just one choice word noticed that Melissa was already holding hers out to him. He took it and made a call, “Check the invoices for all incoming mail to Senator Timothy Elliot. I need to know what post office any mail without a return address came from.”
“This guy is crazy!” one talk show host said to the other, “There he is talking about right and wrong and he’s holding thirty people at gunpoint!”
“Wait, Sally,” the other host responded, “He’s raising some very good questions. If anything he’s saying is valid, it could shake the foundation of this country.”
Sally shook her head, “You’re just saying that because you’re a man. This country was built on the idea of liberty and there he is insinuating that governments ought to push a moral agenda. Government’s place is not in morality, it is in insuring the freedom of its people to practice their own moral conviction!”
“And what makes that right?” he contended.
She nearly stood up, “Well it’s certainly not right for government to control its people!”
The man laughed, “That’s exactly what the crazy man, your terms, has been saying during this whole ordeal.
“Whatever,” laughed Sally. She looked into the camera, “So what do you think, America? Is Zack innocent, is he crazy or is he making a good point? Tell us what you think on any social media outlet.”