Say no to death penalty

As a way to punish heinous offenders and curb criminality especially during Old Testament times, the Holy Bible favored the death penalty. However, the death penalty in this day and age will not do us any favors if we make it a law again in the country.

We have to say no to the well-meaning legislators who are espousing the reimposition of the death penalty. This is not because we now live under the New Testament dispensation, but because crookedness and injustice in our judicial, executive and legislative “systems” have been deeply ingrained in our kind of “democratic” culture. Thus, thousands of people languish in jail either because of wrong conviction or unjust reason, if not on account of conscience-less corruption.

Ever wonder why the poor are easily convicted in our courts of law while the rich masterminds and criminals continue to sit aloft and atop the thrones of their powerful positions and/or connections with impunity?

It looks like the abject plight will remain as such unless we have an abundance of officials to serve us who are soundly principled and morally courageous like the current justice secretary, the ombudsman, the feisty lady senator and a few other women of guts, discretion and probity in government.  But where are the Adams?

Don’t we have men in public service other than the abhorrent “stone-faced” pork barrel boys and the ruthless “kingly” local despots?

And why can’t we have true men in Congress who could be men enough to fight for and pass the long overdue freedom of information bill into law?

What prevents the antagonists and the indifferent speaks volumes.

Meanwhile, what’s wrong with a president apologizing to the people of a next-door country who felt

offended because of the government’s alleged “mishandling” of a hostage-taking incident that resulted in the killing of eight of their countrymen? What an

opportunity for any leader of a country to exhibit humility, strength and statesmanship before his own people and the world under such circumstance.

A genuinely strong person is never too proud to say sorry to an offended party regardless of “facts” because humility always comes with strength (not “facts’) and vice versa.

But what about the “bold as a

lion” leaders of a big nation today who are presently committing grave offenses against their Asian neighbor countries by default and by “invasion”? Obviously, the “leaders” are off-track.

Civilized nations avoid war, not provoke war.

—RENI M. VALENZUELA,

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