Hard To Be Human

I am aghast at the constant drumbeat and movement to incorporate torture into the American political realm; the relentless efforts to allow for the abuse of prisoners at several levels. In expectation of changing laws, the Pentagon has changed the description of allowed techniques in detaining prisoners. Although classified, it seems that the rewrite is designed to allow for interrogators to include many of the techniques we've been hearing about, without violating the exact specifics of our laws. Very mush usual behavior for our Bush Administration.

If America does not deny this effort soon, and without doubt, we will become an international pariah; like the guy on the block who is known to beat his wife and dog; any moral authority or criticism leveled by America will be laughed off as hypocrisy, and deservedly so.




Torture debases the torturer. Through our representative government, torture debases us. The fact that we are even having a debate as to the propriety of torture is ghastly, and has appalled most of the civilized world. Except, of course, the countries that use torture. Who we outsource our torture to. Invisible hand, indeed.

It seems to come as a surprise to the pro-torture crowd, but 24 and Tom Clancy novels are fiction. This means, that although they may bear some resemblance to reality, they do not substitute for it; sometimes torture may be used as a plot device, to advance the story in some way.

The Soviet Union used torture, not to obtain valid information, but to coerce confessions that were then used as propaganda and to implicate other people; as such, the truthfulness of these confessions were moot. It simply enabled them to publicise the confession and expand the detention and torture of undesirable characters.

The nature of torture is to encourage the victim to attempt to stop the torture as soon as possible, by saying or doing whatever the torturer wants. As has been noted about waterboarding, the bodily imperative overrides any desire by reason to mislead or to withhold. John McCain has verified that while under duress he made the confessions his captors wanted. When it is said that they were successful, this is what they were successful at: making McCain sign whatever bogus statements they wanted him to. Did he give them tactical information? doubtful- he doesn't really remember. Did they make any use of his statements? Does anybody know?

And America has, by and large, adopted the same techniques. How does anybody expect a different outcome? The information thus obtained

The only purpose torture serves is to intimidate and manipulate a general population.

In a similar way, executions debase the executioner, and as our representatives, executions debase the country.

No valid connection has been made to establish a deterrent effect from the death penalty. In fact, there is a possible connection between the death penalty and increased levels of crime.

Contrary to the gore-crows of the media, and the obsession with missing white girls on TV, there is no overwhelming wave of crime and violence sweeping the country; by most measures, violent crime has been generally trending downward over the past 50 years. Local conditions, vary of course, but it seems to me these are better addressed through local policing than a 'kill 'em all' policy.

No one contests the notion that our justice system is not perfect. As it's not perfect, it logically follows that innocent people get wrongly convicted from time to time; this actually has been proven, in some cases years after the fact. The system has some safeguards to minimize erroneous results, and when discovered, reparations are made, to some extent.

The difficulty, of course, is that it's hard to make reparations to a dead guy.

I make no excuses for Tookie Williams. He was a thug; his condition now does not, can not, alter his past actions.

But to borrow a bit from Tolkien, Gandalf said to Frodo, when Frodo expressed regret that Bilbo did not kill Gollum:

Pity? It was pity that stayed Bilbo's hand. Many that live deserve death. Some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them, Frodo? Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. Even the very wise cannot see all ends.

Execution of miscreants serves one purpose; to sate bloodlust. Revenge. I find that a weak argument; revenge is a hollow goal. The lizard-brain cries for revenge when one feels fear; A base emotion that would be well regarded with caution, if not loathing.

It becomes a supreme irony, when professed, indeed ardent Christians, insist on the death penalty; the irony, of course, being their religion's emphasis on forgiveness, not to mention the wrongful execution of their Savior figure.

Contrary to Dobson and the AFA, it isn't sex on TV, or the desire for gays yo have equal rights that debases this country. It is the eagerness and willingness to harm or kill others. And that eagerness is increasing. Hard to be human, indeed.