We are surrounded by smoking guns on all sides. Crimes have been committed; we have ample evidence of them. But there can be no justice if there is a failure to stand up for it, if we fail to demand it. Here's the flip side of the torture memos. John Yoo can argue that the President can do anything. Let him do what he pleases, but does that mean he can't be held responsible for the things he has ordered or the things done in his name?
It is easy to dismiss all of this as the unfortunate product of war. But this is not about war, it is about us. How complacent have we become? What does it take? Each day that we allow these crimes to go unanswered erodes the very ideals that this country stands for.
That, my friends, is how you talk about torture. With outrage and disgust. With dismayed horror that this country simply refuses to look at the truth about our government's leaders, refuses to hold them accountable, and refuses to bring them to justice.
God doesn't have to damn America, Reverend Wright. America is damning itself. It is simply unconscionable that this country not only permits the president to torture whomever he chooses to, but that this country's ruling class feels they are too politically weak to stand up and shout, "No!" as our Constitution gets shredded into tiny, blood-stained pieces.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
A-F***ing-Men
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3 comments:
Interesting, the 'smoking gun' theme was one I found yesterday too, in Froomkin: "There are smoking guns everywhere but people don't see them, refuse to see them or pretend they don't exist. How many torture memos does an administration have to promulgate before the public gets the idea they are promulgating torture?"
http://cabdrollery.blogspot.com/2008/05/international-concern-over-torture.html
It was widely used during Watergate.
Hi Ruth - I really think we are a nation in denial. It's not an uncommon response to horror, and we did much the same thing prior to WWII, not wanting to believe that Hitler was committing atrocities. Now it's in our own backyard which, for us anyway, is even worse. I'm afraid our reckoning, when it comes, is going to be pretty harsh.
What we learned as a people from those days of Watergate and the Viet-Nam war is what Reagan taught us. Don't look there, and don't look within. We're Americans, we're the 'good guys' . Denial is like a drug, it's very hard to get off of it. The alternative is too painful, so everything is just getting better and better, really it is. We looked in the mirror in the late 60s and 70s and didn't like what we saw. Reagan taught us how to dye our hair, put on lots of rouge and be a real live cowboy. See? Isn't that better, to be the good guy, and good guys don't do bad things.
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