If torture were not seductive, it would never occur. But it does occur, in part because it flatters the torturer with delusions of power. It also occurs because torture is sometimes the default, passionate response to injustice. I suspect that most torturers are not sadists, but are instead puzzled, and faced with an odd problem: they want their victim to assume responsibility for something over which the victim actually has no direct control whatsoever. The feelings most often associated with torturers are probably boredom, frustration, puzzlement, and cold sweat. It is entirely ignoble.
My friend and mentor, Paul Woodruff, just published a thoughtful and persuasive argument against torture at the blog for Oxford University Press. I hope that you will take a look at it. All human beings will eventually stumble into a position wherein they have the choice to hurt another human being. It takes courage and nobility to step back and avoid it.
The excuses for torture are tired, and grow increasingly inept. Sometimes it requires tremendous moral strength to be on the right side of history, but this is not one of those moments. Torture is wrong, and it is wrong for our country.
My friend and mentor, Paul Woodruff, just published a thoughtful and persuasive argument against torture at the blog for Oxford University Press. I hope that you will take a look at it. All human beings will eventually stumble into a position wherein they have the choice to hurt another human being. It takes courage and nobility to step back and avoid it.
The excuses for torture are tired, and grow increasingly inept. Sometimes it requires tremendous moral strength to be on the right side of history, but this is not one of those moments. Torture is wrong, and it is wrong for our country.
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