If our country tortures people, doesn't that make us all morally bankrupt?

Question

Do you personally condone torture? Why or why not? Would it be ok for you and your family - oops! wrongly accused? Oh, too bad!

Your tax dollars are funding it, and have been for the last 6 years.
http://www.president-bush.com/torture-waterboarding.html

when torture happens, both the victim and the perpetrator of the action become changed for the worse -
Welcome to Midieval America - '(

I suppose the "cons" will re-impose buring people at the stake - like Salem witch trials -

Answer 1

Torture isn't part of Americas freedom process. I don't have a clue what the Bush administration is thinking with this practice, I know it's inhumane.

Answer 2

No, torturing people does not make us all morally bankrupt. We did not ALL vote for the current regime that supports using torture in interrogations, and most of us would like to see American abide by the terms of the Geneva Convention. I believe that only the ultra Neocons would really approve of this practice, and might even think it's a wonderful thing. Hey, they're only "terrorists who want to kill us", so who cares? Well, some are and some are not. Many of the original detainees at Gitmo have been proven to have no ties to terror and were either released or in political limbo.

Then there was Abu Ghraib. What exactly was the point of forcing a bunch of Iraqis to strip naked and dump them into a pile so some nuts could take funny pictures for souvenirs? Were they terrorists? Not exactly, all were eventually released after having been cleared of all charges.

So no, not ALL of us are morally bankrupt, only the ones running the show.

Answer 3

How torture is defined is a better question as torture to one person may not be torture to another. Blaring music in someones ear may torture them while someone might consider it torture to be out in the heat or cold. The rules of interrogation differ greatly for POW's or war criminals as opposed to police interrogations. Torture to a point is acceptable. Shoving bamboo slivers under a mans finger nails is completely over the line as the NVA and VC did during Vietnam. Making a captured soldier lick a toilet clean is also unacceptable, as Saddams regime did in the first Gulf War. I could go on and on but I think you can attempt to see the direction I'm going.

Answer 4

You are a true liberal.

We conservatives believe each person to be responsible for his own actions. I am not responsible for the CIA agent who waterboards a detainee. I am responsible for whether or not I waterboard detainees.

It does not take a village to raise a child and it most certainly does not take an entire nation to torture a terrorist. Evil performed by the government is often necessary for the greater good of it's citizens. I'd be for the government pulling off fingers and toes of terrorists if it would lead to saving the lives of only 2 Americans. I put my countrymen above others. I'll be sure to never allow you to make the decisions for me and my family's safety.

Answer 5

Me? I think torture should be part of our legal system. But that's just how I roll.

Unfortunately, our country does NOT torture people. Torture has a specific meaning - it must cause harm to people. Water-boarding is unpleasant and stressful, but it causes no physical or mental harm. It also doesn't violate either international treaties or US federal law, as your reference site also states.

Coercive questioning techniques are recognized as essential to the fight against terrorism. Terrorists are not eligible for the protections of Geneva - despite what 5 Supreme court Justices say, despite what the oppositionists say. In all past conflicts, terrorists, guerilla fighters, partisans, etc, have been subject to summary execution. This is because they do not follow even the basic minimum requirements that signatories must follow.

So, despite your moral preening and holier-than-thou posturing, you are quite wrong in your assumptions and conclusions.

But you don't really care about that; you are just looking for ways to bash your opponents, and seek the gratifying validation of your feelings in an echo-chamber.

Answer 6

Are you not already morally bankrupt when you can screw your countrymen out of a livelihood to make an extra nickle profit in China. Then accuse them of being depraved liberals because they are not working. Torture comes in many forms. It has to be recognized for what it is. Don't let its various moral hats fool you.

Answer 7

torture has been going on for a lot longer than 6 years but wasn't widely known and announced by the media . if there is evidence that the suspect is involved in something there is nothing wrong with torture , if you don't get that valuable information .... oops thousand people died but atleast the bad guy didn't get his fealings hurt

Answer 8

Looks like Orwell's was off by about 20 years when he titled his book 1984 ....Its all about Torture for the sake of torture and Power for the sake of Power.....nothing else it really is that simple.

Answer 9

no, not every "moral" method solves the problem. sometimes you need to be harsh. whats your proble with torturing them anyway? youre not the one being tortured, give the guilt and moral heartbreak a rest and go with the flow. youre not here to save the world from feeling bad.
other countries will torture us even if we stop. the upper-hand on morality doesnt always have any worth or effect.

Answer 10

It makes all of our people overseas unsafe - how can we condemn when others torture Americans if we do it too?

"If our country tortures people, doesn't that make us all morally bankrupt?"

Yes - at least those of us who support (directly or otherwise) the adnminsitration that instituted it.

But keep in mind, this administration has twice used fraud to win presidential 'elections,' and forced upon us an electronic voting system easily manipulated to perpetuate further fraud.

By remaining silent, we share their guilt - all their guilt.

Our silence is deafening.