Forgive me if I end up making a political statement, but
I have to tell you so you don't ever think this is the way it is or should be.
It's a crazy world and some things never change. But something's happened in the USA and around the world that I can't let you believe for one moment is the way it was or the way it should be.
The United States is part of a body of nations that honors and adheres to the Geneva convention. This means we don't do and we don't condone torture. . This fact has never been up for discussion until the Bush Administration's response to 9-11. Please don't think that the current state of the US government--Congress included--means that something that's worked for fifty years needs to change. We don't do torture and we certainly don't expressedly condone it. Replace that and the moral authority of a free nation can no longer be a beacon for a free world. We've lost too much of that already.
Name calling by grown men solves nothing. Call a country a "evil" and label almost every mid eastern person who doesn't agree with you a "terrorist" and you get called names in return. That's how it works. Of course we have to have and consider military solutions for complex problems, but using "evil" as a black and white noun imflames and creates what we're now seeing: simplistic loudmouth cowboys who seem to forget we only have one planet at our disposal.
Ok, that's all I have to say. I know I am waddling into dangerous territory. War is hell whether it's for the right or wrong reasons. I won't debate that. I really don't want to know who's red, who's blue, and who's purple for that matter. But too many of my blog friends are in their late 2o's and early 30's. I have to tell you it's not supposed to be this way. Not this extreme. Not ever.
Wow, KJ, I really do not want to argue with you because I really consider you my kindred spirit. I feel I have to respond. So kick me if you want but...
ReplyDeleteIs forcing someone to watch eight hours of Barney reruns really considered torture? In that case, I was tortured for two seasons in my life.
I understand your sentiment. I think you are generalizing though. Not every middle eastern person who disagrees with us are called terrorists, only those who bomb and behead Americans and their allies. Actually they are not just from a certain region in the world. Some I have known when I was a child. They skewered Christians with giant bamboo poles. Sometimes they were kind, they immediately beheaded them. Religion can be a source of evil. What's going on?
ces, the kind of torture i'm speaking of is outlined in the geneva conventions. in it nations agree where the line stops when interrogating prisoners of war. i read that my country openly violates that agreement and my heart stops cold.
ReplyDeletei don't mean to imply that americans label mid eastern people. but i believe our president does. and yes, i know and agree with you: this kind of behavior happens throughout time and throughout history. but i just don't want people younger than me believing this is way the united states of america stands for.
Dear K.J.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your couragageous expression of the truth that is swirling inside all Americans these days. Unfortunately, many of our countrymen are in denial. Hopefully, a majority have seen the light and will take action at the polls this November. Whether one is a blind follower of the Bush propaganda machine, or a free thinking citizen, we should all be aware by now that the restoration of checks and balances in the congress serves the best interests of our country and the world. Unfortunately the Bush administration is driven by the infinity of Christian fanaticisim just as the Muslim's are driven by their ideology. They both believe that their respective "books" should be the law of the land. This can never work. Their is a reason our founding fathers chose to seperate church from state. Life is finite and based on science, logic and reason. Religion is based on faith, fantasy and hope. They should not rule the world as was the case in the middle ages. The big three religions choose to ignore thousands of years of evolution and civilization. Reverting to torture is a sign of moral decay and reversion to methods long since proven wrong. The Geneva conventions don't require "interpretation." Every person has a conscience, and free will. We know right from wrong. We know torture when we see it especially if we are doing it. The Three Blind Mice have an agenda of greed and power driven by their blind faith in their beliefs which are not necessarily shared by the all the people. Bush is not a leader, he is a controller and he will never never achieve victory fighting one faith based ideology with another. Only love, peace and inclusion can bring the human family together. Pax. Bad Dog.