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Morality has no Statute of Limitations

by: Juan Melli

Tue Jan 01, 2008 at 11:51:35 PM EST

( - promoted by Juan Melli)

Update: The Assembly Appropriations Committee released the bill to the Assembly by a vote of 10-1-2.

When he's not pushing bad policy in Trenton, Assemblyman Merkt is an historian and amateur astronomy buff. An almost equally famous astronomer, Galileo Galilei, once was condemned and sentenced to house arrest by the Catholic church for theorizing that the Earth revolved around the sun.

Pope John Paul II formed a commission to study that controversy - one of the "dark pages" in the church's past. In 1992 the commission's report said that the mistakes of the judges who tried Galileo needed to be acknowledged:

This subjective error of judgment, so clear to us today, led them to a disciplinary measure from which Galileo had much to suffer. These mistakes must be frankly recognized, as you, Holy Father, have requested" (L'Osservatore Romano, November 1, 1992).

350 years after Galileo's death, Pope John Paul II apologized for their actions. The next year, he apologized for the church's role in the African slave trade, and later to Jews, women and other minorities. "Never again," he said.

What does this have to do with the good Assemblyman? One might think that Merkt - a convert to Catholicism - would understand the value of acknowledging the past and apologizing for New Jersey's mistakes.

"Who living today is guilty of slave holding and thus capable of apologizing for the offense?" asked Assemblyman Richard Merkt, R-Morris. "And who living today is a former slave and thus capable of accepting the apology? So how is a real apology even remotely possible, much less meaningful, given the long absence of both oppressor and victim?"

Merkt may not think the pope's historic apologies were meaningful either, but the rest of the world welcomed them as an important step towards reconciliation.

Slavery was a deeply painful scar on the conscience of American history and this apology would be an important symbol in healing division. Everyone who understands that there is no statue of limitations on morality should support Assemblyman Payne's bill.

As for Merkt - does he think the Vatican should take back its apology? Or is this an intellectually inconsistent attempt at race-mongering?

Juan Melli :: Morality has no Statute of Limitations

Tags: slavery, John Paul II, William Payne, Richard Merkt, (All Tags)

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Morality has no Statute of Limitations | 11 comments

Actually Galileo (0.00 / 0)

could not prove an iota of his theory. Which I believe was the real reason behind the trial.

Check out my 3 paragraph primer on Polywell Fusion.

by: FogerRox @ Wed Jan 02, 2008 at 05:38:02 AM UTC

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Re: (0.00 / 0)

Parts of his theory were right (the Earth revolves around the sun) and parts were wrong (the sun is stationary). It's true that he couldn't explain Aristotle's predicted parallax shift in the stars - technology wasn't good enough to measure it at the time.

He did assert that his theory was the truth even though he couldn't prove it conclusively at the time. He was asked not to push his theory, but he did so anyway. I think it was the theological inconsistency that bothered them, though. I doubt they were locking up any random person who couldn't prove their theories.

by: Juan Melli @ Wed Jan 02, 2008 at 06:05:24 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

So, Pope JP II shouldn't have apologized for the treatment of Galileo because Galileo was making unproven allegations?????? (0.00 / 0)

by: Creed Pogue @ Wed Jan 02, 2008 at 16:25:36 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

The Church (0.00 / 0)

can't prove an iota of its "theories." Are you saying the reason Galileo was on trial was because the Church was the gatekeeper of good science???

by: Moxie Sebright @ Wed Jan 02, 2008 at 23:33:23 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

On The Whole, I Say Merkt is an Ass (4.00 / 1)

The descendants of slaves are still living in NJ in large numbers.

The repercussions of slavery are STILL with us; we're not even close to healing all the damage done to the African Amercan community.

I dare say that there are likely descendants of slave holders STILL in NJ who enjoy the status of being "old money".

Hell, an official apologia/acknowledgement of the inhuman horror of slavery would be a good thing to do. I see no need for a great controversy....not even close.

Tragically, there are many places in the world in which slavery is, pretty much, still practiced.

Merkt is either an ignorant, insensitive, asinine dullard; or something far uglier.

He needs to be turned our of office at the next opportunity.

by: Nick Lento @ Wed Jan 02, 2008 at 07:02:50 AM UTC

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What the hell is with the Morris Republicans? (4.00 / 1)

Chris Christie, Michael Patrick Carrol and now Merkt?

At least Christie hasn't weighed in on the slavery issue, but these other two idiots are telegraphing their feelings on race relations with this one.

by: huntsu @ Wed Jan 02, 2008 at 14:49:32 PM UTC

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New Jersey Was Here Then (4.00 / 1)

What Merkt doesn't realize with his idiotic "who is living now" line is that the state of New Jersey is here now and was here then. It was the government of New Jerssey, which Merkt serves, that affirmatively approved slavery by passing laws protecting it.

That same state's government, in a slightly different form, is still here today and has every right to make an apology for it's wrong.

Of course, if Merkt doesn't think that the state's existing means anything then maybe he's willing to get rid of the idea of corporate personhood as well?

by: nathanrudy @ Wed Jan 02, 2008 at 14:54:27 PM UTC

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I don't get it. (4.00 / 2)

Don't we have anything more pressing to consider in Trenton these days?
Apologizing for slavery, while merited, has to be pretty low on the priority list there right?
If we continue down this road there are American Indians, resisdents of Nagasaki, Hiroshima, and a few other groups I can think of who probably warrant apologies from us. Is this really what we want to concentrate on right now?

"Where ever you go, there you are." - Buckaroo Bonzai

by: William Weber (WjcW) @ Wed Jan 02, 2008 at 17:05:47 PM UTC

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Symbolism (0.00 / 0)

Now that the legislature outlawed the death penalty 40 years after our last execution and apologized for slavery 140 years after the Civil War, can it get on with pressing business please?

by: Moxie Sebright @ Wed Jan 02, 2008 at 23:41:37 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

The symbolic gestures (0.00 / 0)

are easy compared to actual legislatin'. So pass it & then get on with improving Newark's school system, & lowering the percentage of African-Americans in prison.

by: Wesleylake @ Wed Jan 02, 2008 at 20:15:45 PM UTC

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vote breakdown for GOP (0.00 / 0)

pennacchio votes yes, merkt NO

the other two (marcia karrow and mike doherty) abstain.

activist for hire.