As is customary on television, once an item becomes news (any item will do), there ensue days and days of interviews going over the same subject until even the commentators become weary of it.
The most recent exclamation point of national hysteria is the continuing drama of what constitutes torture. I think even a simpleton knows that any act against another, whether physical or mental, that causes excruciating pain or fear, whether it elicits valuable information or not, is torture. The merits of one method or another are discussed in the abstract and pictured in reality.
The subject is made for television because all manner of questions can be raised except, it seems, the one most alarming for Americans. What does the act of torturing another human being mean in a Judeo-Christian culture and what does it do to the person who does the torturing?
When I hear the arguments pro and con torture as a military or political necessity, I wonder if I am living in the same country I grew up in. Maybe Sunday school spoiled me. Apparently, they taught me a bunch of lies. "What would Jesus do?" had a popular acronym (WWJD) a few years ago. It has become a meaningless symbol for those who think torture is a weapon of choice.
The Nuremberg argument consists of saying that we are only doing what we were told, and the argument that they do it so we can do it has long been repudiated by law and social discernment. We claim to hold the torch of liberty and freedom as a light for the whole world. We claim to be an example. We claim to be a nation of law and righteousness. Words are cheap.
My personal reaction is horror at what happens to the mind and soul of the torturer who turns himself or herself into a beast. Do we not have some responsibility for this act of obedience and fear of the consequences when citizens become turned into abusers?
The fact that certain renegades from international law do what we abhor is a poor excuse for mimicking them. How safe are we when we are corrupting ourselves? Do brave people become beasts in the name of national security? I cannot understand what is happening to the American ideal.
Yes, I know our history of expansion and exploitation, but we have always tried to achieve moral superiority as well. At the very least, we have preached our values and translated them into law. To deny all this by approving torture is a betrayal of the American people.
Forget all the arguments and listen to your conscience.
