Perhaps it is time to consider the implementation of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Truth and Reconciliation Commissions have been conducted in many countries to discover and reveal past wrongdoing by a government, in the hope of resolving conflicts left over from the past. They are, under various names, set up by states emerging from periods of unrest, civil war, or dictatorship. Mandela's South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission is considered the role model. They can provide proof against historical revisionism of state terrorism and other crimes and human rights abuses. The argument against such commissions is that they allow crimes to go unpunished, and create impunity for serious human rights abusers.
American citizens and the world feel Bush and his cronies are responsible for many atrocities during the past 8 years --both home and abroad. Torture, Iraq, Katrina, wiretapping, to name just a few.
Immediately after his 2004 victory, Bush said his next four years would be devoted to his legacy. Look where that got him -- the lowest approval rating for a president since the survey was started over 80 years ago. Mass celebrations in the U.S. and around the world at the election of Obama. Estimates of over 4 million who may attend the Obama inaugural in two months. We want him gone -- the sooner, the better.
People are now excited and rejuvenated, and hope is slowly returning to America. A new day has dawned -- most of which is directly traced to a repudiation of all that is Bush and the ruin he created. Our moral compass has returned with this election victory, and the rest of the world rejoices with us.
But can we really move forward unless and until we expose the skeletons of the past 8 years? Does it start with the very election in 2000 and the Supreme Court ruling in Bush's favor. Does it include Cheney's mutilation of executive power? The Attorney General debacle? Guantanamo? The Iraq War -- just to name.
Of course, it would require the participation of Bush, Cheney, Rove, Rumsfeld, Tenent, Feith, Wolfowitz, Libby, Gonzales, Wu, Meiers, among others. Also should include those involved in providing the intelligence which sent us to war in Iraq (although I am quite sure there are no such individuals; it was a dodge by Bush and others to deflect the truth).
And what would they get in return for testifying? Absolution by the citizenry. Testimonial immunity, perhaps?
Yes, I realize it's a tough pill to swallow, and for many who have participated in these commissions and listened to the atrocities committed against their own families, it was heartbreaking to hear. But practically without fail, those who participated in these commissions came away with a lessened sense of guilt and revenge and hatred and anger, and have been able to go on and live productive lives.
Given what this country has experienced in the past 8 years, perhaps it is time we conduct our own Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and show the world that we are returning to an America we can all be proud of.