Accountability used to matter and should matter now more than ever. We hear the complaints from average Americans expecting authorities to uphold the rule of law: “It’s a revolving door for criminals; they’re in and out the same day!” “If they don’t have to pay off their student loans, why should I?” “How come some get special treatment?”
Responsible students and their parents paying the bills are wondering why graduation ceremonies are being canceled because of a few hundred irresponsible demonstrators. Responsible students want to fulfill their dream of a college graduation in front of their proud family and friends.
Now, at times violent and destructive anti-Israel demonstrators are demanding amnesty for their actions. In America, demonstrators certainly have the right to take a stand for their views. It’s another matter entirely to attack police officers, destroy university property, or threaten to kill anyone because of their race, religion, or politics. Coming with the right to demonstrate, comes the corresponding responsibility to endure the consequences for their actions.
Thankfully, some university administrators are taking steps to hold students responsible. Even with many liberal faculty criticizing his response, UCLA Chancellor Gene Block announced that he remains committed to using facial-recognition technology to identify those who carried out violent attacks: “To that end, inaugural Associate Vice Chancellor and Chief Safety Officer Rick Braziel is leading a law enforcement investigation to identify the perpetrators of the violence and hold them to account. The LAPD has committed a detective to assist in our investigative efforts, and we have also connected with the FBI about possible assistance. We have spoken to Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón to solicit his help in ensuring that the instigators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Rhode Island School of Design president, Crystal Williams, had had enough. She confronted the demonstrators on campus requiring them to undergo a "restorative justice process." They had to return the occupied space to its original condition and have constructive dialogue with the students negatively impacted. If they did not honor her deadline to leave their encampment, those remaining would face expulsion. Faced with strong leadership, the students complied.
Senators Marco Rubio and Representative August Pfluger have written, “The First Amendment guarantees every American the right to free speech, but no one has the right to destroy private property, trespass illegally, or attack innocent people. This is why college administrators are justified in disbanding anti-Israel protests-turned-riots by force. We can and should, however, go one step further: we should deport the non-Americans who have participated in these riots.”
In short, criminal demonstrators should face consequences and not be rewarded with amnesty. But our crisis in accountability goes beyond how we respond to the demonstrations in support of Hamas. When you do any crime, you should be responsible to do the time. The failure to face consequences just encourages more crime. It’s time to end the revolving door for any criminal and return to requiring bail in order to be released. Violators should be charged and know that those charges will remain on their record.
The crisis of accountability goes beyond how we handle crime. Students should be responsible for the loans they incur in securing a degree. They signed the loan; it’s their debt to pay. President Joe Biden’s unconstitutional practice of forgiving student loan debt for some in hopes of securing their vote strikes at the core of our shared values. Why should anyone pay off their debt? In fact, why doesn’t Biden forgive our mortgage debt, our credit card debt, or our medical debts?
Aristotle took a stand for accountability when he wrote, “At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law and justice he is the worst.” There is a cost to the failure to hold people accountable. That cost is our very freedom.
John Locke observed, “The end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom. For in all the states of created beings capable of law, where there is no law, there is no freedom.”
Society functions because everyone is required to play by the same rules. When rules are not enforced, when criminals are set free instead of being held accountable, and when some citizens are given special treatment, we put our republic in jeopardy. In November, take a stand for accountability. Return Republicans to office with every vote you make.
Terry Paulson is PhD psychologist, author, and professional speaker on Earned Optimism, Making Change Work, Claiming Your American Dream, and Becoming a Conservative Values Voter. Contact him at terry@terrypaulson.com.