Tuesday, May 4, 2010

America's Moral Compass

The beauty of the animal form is in exact proportion to the amount of moral and intellectual virtue expressed by it.
- John Ruskin

The so-called new morality has too often the old immorality condoned.
- Lord Shawcross

Let me begin by saying, "Thank you, Richard Roeper." It seems very few these days are inclined to call a public figure to the carpet regarding their behavior. I'm referring to the case of Roman Polanski. Let me begin by quoting a passage from Richard Roeper's recent blog article on the subject:

"Fame is indeed a double-edged sword. If Roman Polanski were an accountant or a carpenter or a gardener who drugged and gave champagne to a 13-year-old girl, raped her, was interrupted, resumed raping her, took her home and instructed her not to tell anyone, there's a good chance he would have done some serious prison time back in the 1970s. If Roman the accountant or Roman the carpenter had fled the country because of a grandstanding judge's incompetence, you wouldn't see 138 of Hollywood's biggest players signing a petition demanding his "immediate release." (Harvey Weinstein said Polanski's assault of the 13-year-old girl was "a so-called crime." I wonder if Weinstein would call it a "so-called crime" if the exact same set of circumstances involved a 13-year-old relative of his?) Then again, would authorities be this interested in pursuing an unknown offender more than 30 years after the fact?"

Personally, I think the Roman Polanski case demonstrates a serious decline in our cultural integrity. In my admittedly brief reading of the archives from Mr. Polanski's 1977 arrest and subsequent court appearances and legal wrangling into 1978 to 1997 and then into 2000 and beyond, I've noticed a distinct difference in public opinion. I've not found documentation of a major outcry from Hollywood at the time of his arrest, indictment and sentencing. If there was one, it certainly was not as prominent as the recent petition demanding his release and the public statements by various influential stars of today.

My question, then, is this a result of a decline in our society's valuation of childhood, innocence and virtue? Is it evidence of our society's increasing tendency to dehumanize and objectify women? Or is it even more sinister? While I did not find a large outcry in the 1970's demanding Mr. Polanski's release, neither did I find a public outcry demanding his conviction. Was Hollywood, now so vocally in favor of extending forgiveness to this man, completely silent back then? If so, what does that silence mean? Were his peers ashamed of his actions at the time? Or did they actually not care or even approve of his deeds, but were unwilling to speak up lest they damage their careers?

Time and distance often lessen the psychological impact of a crime for outside observers. I would be willing to bet that those who are so adamantly demanding his release now were mere children at the time of his arrest. They probably see an acquaintance or even a friend, a peer whose art they respect, and whose personal tragedies seem to have clouded his judgment. I get that. I understand that he is an Auschwitz survivor and that years later his beloved wife was brutally murdered. Terrible things have happened to this man. But does that give him the right to brutalize a young girl?

Here are Mr. Polanski's own words, shortly before he fled the country to avoid prison time: The British Broadcasting Corp. quoted Polanski as saying by telephone, "I've been tortured by this for a year and that's enough." Really, Mr. Polanski? You've been tortured? How about the torture you inflicted upon an innocent young girl? What about the fact that the severe emotional scars you left her with will impact her entire life? No wonder she would now prefer to live in anonymity and have this whole terrible episode just go away.

Shame on you, Mr. Polanski. You, the former victim, became a brutal victimizer. And shame on you, those Hollywood elites that signed the petition demanding the release of a child rapist. Yes, much time has passed since the time of his arrest and conviction. But that is time that he, in effect, stole by fleeing the country rather than face the consequence of his actions like a man. That is time he stole from his victim by living in freedom while she existed in the emotional prison of the trauma inflicted upon her.

I sincerely hope that our society will not fall into the trap of looking to our "stars" for moral guidance. I truly admire the work of my fellow artists, especially those who have reached the top of their craft. Yet I understand that expertise in one's chosen profession does not equal expertise in every subject across the board. People who have achieved greatness in all walks of life can still be some of the world's greatest moral failures. Conversely, the most meek among us are often the most virtuous. In my case, my conscience compels me to stand up not for the powerful, but for those who often cannot stand up for themselves.