Torture is. I can accept it, without agreeing with the act. But, what I can't accept is the thought that this only confirms what we expected all along. That is, we all knew they were torturing prisoners in Gitmo and probably at prison facilities in Iraq. BUT, it needn't have been this way. We should not accept torture. And we should not give our military or OUR administration the ability to get away with it. "We are protecting you, " goes the line. At what point do we protect ourselves? That's why they support the NRA, right?
No, my real argument is this: people who do wrong are guilty of the crime. People who know about the crime and impede the discovery of it are guilty of obstruction of justice. People who agree to commit a crime are guilty of conspiracy. People who deny the crime after it occurs simply rob us of a learning experience and the ability to effectively change behavior. Thus, this last set are more directly responsible for the continuation or repetition of the crime, long after the original behavior has ceased. What is not okay, is that torture has not been made "not okay."
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You hate torture. I hate torture. We all hate torture, right? Surprisingly not. A friend and I were discussing torture the other day (I know, great bar convo) and he brought up an incident in one of his classes this semester. I don't quite remember what the main topic of discussion was, but somehow they came around to talking about whether or not we should torture. I guess the conversation got a little heated and many, I'm talking like more than half of the class, said they agreed with torture and that not only was it OK but that we should use it. He was absolutely dumbfounded that so many people felt that way. Most students cited the "ticking time bomb scenario," as flawed as it may be. Does the US continue to torture because there are still many Americans who are OK with it (or that there aren't enough anti-torturers out there?) Or are people OK with torture because it happens? I'm not sure, but either way it's a sad sad truth.
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