![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Rumsfeld Doesn't Get It.
From today's Salon:
"Rumsfeld told reporters Sept. 10 that he had approved the use of harsh interrogation measures, but that they had only been meant for Guantánamo. He said the measures ought to be contrasted with those of terrorists. 'Does it rank up there with chopping someone's head off on television?' he asked. 'It doesn't.'"
This is an administration that fundamentally doesn't get it. Torture is wrong. That's the absolute.
We have an eighth amendment that states in full:
"Amendment VIII
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted."
There are some who can argue that in today's world torture isn't unusual. No one can argue it's not cruel.
There's no relativism in the amendment, and those in our executive branch should not be applying relative arguments. It appalls me that the Justice Department could even think of writing a memo that would justify the use of torture by Americans.
I was brought up that there were some things that just weren't done. Whether it was because I was an officer's daughter, a Christian, an American, or a St. Catherine's girl. There were standards to maintain.
As an American, our Secretary of Defense shouldn't be using a playground defense of "What Johnny did was worse," or even "But they started it." We should be able to look any reporter or representative of a foreign government in the eye and say, "Americans don't do that." We're not, and we can't.
I'm sickened.
For those of you who are interested, The Guardian is exerpting Seymour Hersh's new book.
"Rumsfeld told reporters Sept. 10 that he had approved the use of harsh interrogation measures, but that they had only been meant for Guantánamo. He said the measures ought to be contrasted with those of terrorists. 'Does it rank up there with chopping someone's head off on television?' he asked. 'It doesn't.'"
This is an administration that fundamentally doesn't get it. Torture is wrong. That's the absolute.
We have an eighth amendment that states in full:
"Amendment VIII
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted."
There are some who can argue that in today's world torture isn't unusual. No one can argue it's not cruel.
There's no relativism in the amendment, and those in our executive branch should not be applying relative arguments. It appalls me that the Justice Department could even think of writing a memo that would justify the use of torture by Americans.
I was brought up that there were some things that just weren't done. Whether it was because I was an officer's daughter, a Christian, an American, or a St. Catherine's girl. There were standards to maintain.
As an American, our Secretary of Defense shouldn't be using a playground defense of "What Johnny did was worse," or even "But they started it." We should be able to look any reporter or representative of a foreign government in the eye and say, "Americans don't do that." We're not, and we can't.
I'm sickened.
For those of you who are interested, The Guardian is exerpting Seymour Hersh's new book.
no subject
There's no relativism in the amendment
Respectfully, how can the word "unusual" *not* be interpreted without relativism? Indeed, if people fail to speak out against these practices for long enough that they become standard procedure -- then their supporters will be able to truthfully claim that they are *not* unusual -- any more.
no subject
I must admit that I was thinking of the cruelty part of the statement. As I said above:
There are some who can argue that in today's world torture isn't unusual. No one can argue it's not cruel.