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100 percent this! Remember this whenever people start talking about the need to restore “unity,” “move on,” “let the country heal”. All that’s ever led to is a complete lack of accountability - from Nixon to Iran Contra to those responsible for the torture program under Bush.
The standard set in recent American history is that no matter what you do while in power, the next regime is gonna come in and - in the name of “unity,” “closure,” and “healing” - let you get off scott-free.
Look at the way the mainstream political discourse treats George W. Bush and, to a lesser extent perhaps, his clique. Most of these men should be in jail or, at the very least, should be treated as pariahs by the country’s political and civic institutions.
Instead, they were all welcomed back into polite society in next to no time - no contrition, not even pretend atonement, required at all. Now we’re constantly reminded what a nice guy GWB is - after all, the Obamas consider him a friend! Yeah, but the thing is: they shouldn’t!
It’s not even just an ethical/moral problem (but let’s not forget that it is!): If we don’t hold these people accountable, they continue to influence politics and society - writing op-eds, advising parties, even getting back to being part of the executive. That’s a disaster!
The repeated failure of America’s political, judicial, and civic institutions to hold elites accountable for serious wrongdoing has never led to “unity” and “closure” (or if it has, then on the backs of those who were victimized by those exact elites).
The silver lining of the Trump era could be that the wrongdoings are so egregious, so outrageously obvious that for once, the siren call of “unity and closure” might not be able to drown out demands for justice and accountability. Sadly, recent history suggests otherwise.
