American values

The time has come for all of us, regardless of political stripe, to decide just exactly what the definition of "American values" is going to be in our post-9/11 world. And the choice seems, to me, to be incredibly clear-cut.

Do we abhor or condone torture?

It's really that simple. All the debates currently raging about which particular barbaric acts are acceptable "interrogation techniques", all the talk about "ticking time-bomb" scenarios and CIA exemptions, all the disingenuous defenses offered by the Bush Administration that fall back on the old chestnut of "doing whatever it takes" to protect Americans, are nothing more than self-serving unadulterated bullshit. This is not some hypothetical ethics discussion. With the approval of this Administration, military personnel have assaulted, brutalized, beaten, sodomized, and murdered unarmed prisoners in our custody. All in the name of "spreadin' democracy and freedom."

In fact, the issue of torture should not be a debate at all. Not in the America I used to know.

The inarguable truth is that there's no room for nuance in a discussion about violations of human rights. Torture is torture, period. That there is an ongoing effort not only to explain away past offenses, but also to make the use of torture a sanctioned part of official U.S. policy, is yet another indication that our nation is being led by monsters who represent everything but fundamental American principles.

We cannot afford to allow this White House to press blithely forward with its support of depravity. The stance taken by Messr.'s Bush and Cheney on this topic threatens not only our global image, but our moral legacy and actual safety as well. Their continued dismissal of basic human rights, no matter what the rationale, puts America in the position of being no different than the brutal regimes and organizations we publicly condemn. It places our President and Vice President on equal footing with the animals who've beheaded hostages, the suicide-bombers who slaughter innocents on a daily basis, and the fanatics who reduced the World Trade Center to a smoldering burial ground, all of whom also believe that the ends justify the means.

And if we the people do not raise our voices in a united cry against White House support for torture, then we deserve the lasting shame - and real danger - that will follow as a result of our apathy and inaction.

(I'm so furious about this issue that I can't bring myself to be clever with news links. So read these analyses by John McCain, The London Free Press, Rekha Basu, David Cole, The Economist, Newsweek, Andrew Sullivan, The Australian, and an incredible summation of the actual government memos and military techniques from Slate. And speak out now - after all, it's only our national soul that's at stake.)