The Torture Debate

Waterboarding
"Enhanced Interrogation"

A truly strong person will show compassion even when they are afraid.  A weak person won't.

This week has been one of many squawkers on TV and the internet going on about the U.S. and new torture reports.

Again, a truly strong person will show compassion even when they are afraid. A weak person won't.

So which are we America?  Is it disgusting to anybody else that torture is an issue up for debate?  Why is this even morally arguable?!  If you think harming another human being is allowable under certain circumstances, then you need to be willing to stand in the room while it's done and stomach listening to the person scream for mercy.  If you're comfortable with this, then I have serious reservations about your character.

If we fight for this country it should be because we believe we're doing the right thing.  By doing the right thing, we would believe we're the good guys; good guys fight for humanity.  If we lose our humanity, what on earth are we fighting for?  The state?  The government of the piece of earth we just happened to be born upon? 

If we decide there is no such thing as heroes and we all need to become villains to win, then what's the point of winning?  Honestly, if our moral boundaries have been so blurred by the end of our struggle against our "enemies", who cares if we win.  We've all lost already.

What kind of America do we want to leave our children?  Are we simply a new Roman Empire, conquering the world and stomping all our enemies beneath the boots of our military?  Or are we a people who chooses to take the moral high ground and fight (not always literally) for something better and bigger than ourselves?

I'm beginning to believe in our frantic fear to preserve our culture we've started to lose everything worth preserving in the first place. 

We can definitely do better.

When torture is part of public policy, morality fast erodes.
I would sooner not leave my children an America than leave them this ^^ America.

(torture)
photo credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/notionscapital/13683824885/">Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">cc</a>

(torture 2)
photo credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kamgtr/8969344645/">KamrenB Photography</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">cc</a>