Excerpt of the Transcript² and Video Clip from Judgement at Nuremberg

God bless the United States of America and this honorable tribunal.

The trial conducted before this tribunal began over eight months ago. The record of evidence is more than       pages long...and final arguments of counsel have been concluded.

Simple murders and atrocities do not constitute...the gravamen of the charges in this indictment.

Rather, the charge is that of conscious participation...in a nationwide, government-organized system...of cruelty and injustice...in violation of every moral and legal principle...known to all civilized nations.

The tribunal has carefully studied the record...and found therein...abundant evidence to support...beyond a reasonable doubt...the charges against these defendants.

Herr Rolfe...in his very skillful defense...has asserted that there are others...who must share the ultimate responsibility...for what happened here in Germany.

There is truth in this.

The real complaining party at the bar in this courtroom...is civilization.

But the tribunal does say...that the men in the dock are responsible for their actions.

Men who sat in black robes...in judgment on other men. Men who took part... in the enactment of laws and decrees...^{Unitary Executive theory} the purpose of which was the extermination of human beings.^{Illegal war}

Men who, in executive positions^{Oil company execs}...actively participated^{Prosecutor Purge} in the enforcement of these laws...illegal even under German law.

The principle...of criminal law in every civilized society...has this in common: Any person who sways another to commit murder...any person who furnishes...the lethal weapon for the purpose of the crime...any person who is an accessory to the crime...is guilty.

Herr Rolfe...further asserts that the defendant Janning...was an extraordinary jurist...and acted in what he thought was the best interest of his country.

There is truth in this also. Janning, to be sure...is a tragic figure. We believe he loathed the evil he did. But compassion for the present torture of his soul...must not beget forgetfulness...of the torture^{Abu Graihb} and the death of millions^{Iraq dead and displaced} by the government of which he was a part.

Janning's record and his fate...illuminate the most shattering truth that has emerged from this trial. If he and all of the other defendants had been degraded perverts...if all of the leaders of the Third Reich...had been sadistic monsters and maniacs...then these events
would have no more moral significance...than an earthquake, or any other^{California wildfires} natural catastrophe.^Katrina

But this trial has shown...that under a national crisis^9-11...ordinary, even able and extraordinary men...can delude themselves into the commission of crimes^{Illegal, warrantless wiretapping}...so vast and heinous^{Waterboarding, rendition} that they beggar the imagination.

No one who has sat through the trial can ever forget them. Men sterilized^{Immigrant denied medical care} because of political belief.  A mockery^{Limbaugh on Fox} made of friendship and faith. The murder of children.^{cluster bombs}

How easily it can happen.

There are those in our own country^{Right-wing groups}, too...who today speak of the protection of country...of survival.

A decision must be made in the life of every nation...at the very moment when the grasp of the enemy is at its throat. Then it seems that the only way to survive is to use the means of the enemy...to rest survival upon what is expedient,^{Patriot Act} to look the other way^Hypocrisy

The answer to that is: Survival as what?

A country isn't a rock. It's not an extension of one's self. It's what it stands for.

It's what it stands for when standing for something is the most difficult.

Before the people of the world...let it now be noted...that here in our decision, this is what we stand for: Justice...truth...and the value of a single human being^{Rogue Prosecutors}.

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It's fitting, in this age of rising gas prices, oil wars, energy behemoths, auto giants, global climate crises and illegal warfare to end with this rather interesting quote³ from the father of the modern automobile:

Don't find fault.  Find a remedy.  ~Henry Ford

Actually, I guess that's five, and that's just what I'd call "a good start."  Here's where it should end:

Update: Check out rba's excellent comment, below. It sums it all up nicely.

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^1. From The Quotations Page, via Google's Quotes of the Day feature.
^2. From Script-o-rama, Judgment At Nuremburg Script - Dialogue Transcrip.
^3. From QuoteGarden.
^4. Courtesy of The Dood Abides - The Last Round-up (a.k.a. The Bush Administration Frogwalk).