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Voilà the defendant. He's the partially bald, totally grey old
white male wearing the hearing aid. He must be one of those folks
brought to trial out of some bloodsucker's sacrificial impulse. As
I watch him sitting on that first row, I instinctively recognize
that, like the rest of us, he must be guilty of something other
than what he is accused of. Yet, in spite of such liability, I must
say that he looks fairly decent in his gray suit. What do you
think? To be fair, we must sever the image of the man from that of his craft as we consider the charges. In general, it is the defendant's profession that deserves the bad epithets. As a clique, physicians are scheming and corrupt --culpable. They manipulate and bribe elected officials through an association called the AMA which, in order to control the country's supply of doctors and avoid competition among them, decides arbitrarily if an American citizen's son or daughter will be allowed to join the profession or not; this is done at every university's registration offices against the wishes of the taxpayers, which makes it un-American, furtive, crooked and sinister. The hell with them too. Candidly, I don't feel inclined to make the old fellow pay for anything. Remember that we must believe this man innocent until proven guilty. Nevertheless, if we should say right now, "Let anyone who is free of guilt cast the first stone," some hypocrite would split his head in two. The jury selection process must continue. You presume that justice can't succeed with the present political arrangement and look at this ceremony with disdain. But be practical, even perversion is less destructive than chaos. I'd like to think that we are not here solely for the sake of the establishment or the interest of the lawyers. Perhaps, like you have said, our legal institution, which reflects our society, is bugged down with trivia and can no longer function. Of course, you would know how to correct that problem -- but I am concerned about my freedom. What a dilemma! We must work on that one. Like in a shrine dedicated to Shiva, the three-faced god of beasts, the prosecutor, the defender and the judge will engrave in your mind that the Law is self-sustaining and breathes windlessly, that only It shines among darkness wrapped in darkness, that It has risen naturally in the mind from the heat of knowledge. Did you ever try to pass or to defeat a law --or to move a mountain? Finally, they'll make you believe that the Law is the god of the land, that It must survey it all from Its highest dwelling. Then you'll concur with them and disregard justice out of reverence for the Law. Now, sit quietly and listen to the Law, the not-so- venerable writings inspired by unscrupulous representatives with their own welfare in mind. We didn't watched sufficiently our institutions and they grew big, sick and barren. We failed to oversee those to whom we have entrusted democracy and we have been betrayed --what else could a sane individual have anticipated? We were confused into silence and withdrawal by those who called themselves our leaders. Now, we must put this whorehouse in order. Notwithstanding our malaise, my dear, I would not be enthralled by the appearance of your people at the "end" of the present time, riding white horses and holding flaming swords. Messiahs bring much trouble. Men do not die. They renew themselves in their offsprings to repeat old blunders. Man has no soul and his Ultimate Reality is a conjecture. No matter how much he meditates or reflects, he'll never find the link to his God. Thus speak man's deeds.
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