Sunday, November 13, 2005
Torture
There's talk about Congressional hearings and a proposed law to outlaw torture. First of all, give me a break. Surely torture is outlawed by, uh, definition. Exactly which country say's it's lawful to smack people around or pull out their toenails? Making a law about something patently illegal seems ridiculous. Secondly, I wish the yellers and screamers would have a teeny tiny bit more trust that our government has a modicum of sense and good intentions (a/k/a isn't composed entirely of horned demons). Thirdly, I was going to embellish on "secondly" when I read Andrea at Least Loved Bedtime Stories who made my points more pointedly and succinctly than I could. Therefore:
1) No, I don't think that the opposite of a "cynical" culture should be a totally credulous, accept-everything-Uncle-Sam-tells-us culture.... But there is a difference between healthy skepticism regarding authority and despairing, self-crippling cynicism.... [and]I wish people would think, think clearly, and think with their eyes open outward instead of at people who prefer to complain and bemoan than observe and think.
2) No, I don't think we should give the Administration carte blanche to pull out the thumbscrews and the iron maidens.... But "discomfort" is not torture; if it was I could sue my [mother] for making me wear little white yarn gloves to an un-airconditioned church in [New York].
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