The coward wretch whose hand and heart Can bear to torture aught below, Is ever first to quail and start From the slightest pain or equal foe.
Bertrand Russell
I pulled into the donut/bagel store parking lot late this morning, whimpering. I had just listened to a bit of the reports about the torture papers that were released today, and when they spoke about rectal feeding, I turned the radio off and lay my head on the steering wheel.
We're even now reckoning with this? There's an argument? I wrote this post nearly six years ago, and here we are.
If you're a person who believes that the institution of torture is a necessary evil, that it's justified to secure liberties, the American way of life, American lives, your way of life or your life, be gone. I don't think I even want your energy breathing in this space. The rest of us Americans need to figure out how to live forward.
And I thought I hated Bush and his Cheney cronies before.
ReplyDeleteI do not even want to mention how beautiful you and your daughter are in the same breath but...
You are.
Insanity.
ReplyDeleteCompletely avoiding the other subject for I am without words, you and Sophie are beauty which redeems us, or as a friend says, cushions the fall. xo
ReplyDeleteIt makes me heart sick. Sending love. N2
ReplyDeleteI'll focus on that renaissance like portrait of you and Sophie instead. Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteWe seriously ran off the rails as a nation during the Bush years, and we are still dealing with the fallout. As are all the people still unjustly detained in Guantanamo and elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteAnd Cheney is defending it! The lovely photo of you and Sophie first thing this morning has lifted my spirits. Now I hope I can lift my head to the world.
ReplyDeleteBest,
Bonnie
I suppose what surprises me most is that the public is surprised at this. It's kind of a "duh" situation when it comes to torture and the CIA. It's horrifying stuff to see the light of day, but hopefully it will bring about change. The photo is beautiful. Such a contrast to the harsh realities of the day.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I am also sickened to learn that for some, humanity has now become a choice and not a way of life.
ReplyDeleteyou knew six years ago because you pay attention. so did i. the fallout will be interesting....more overseas fall out than U.S. I'll bet.
ReplyDeleteI heard a report on NPR this morning where they invoked Jack Bauer of the TV show 24 and I nearly drove off the road. They talked about how his character was the beginning of the glamorization of torture and the convincing that it was effective. The reporter even mentioned that Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito asked whether "you would indict Jack Bauer for torture." WTF? Seriously? That's like asking folks if they would indict the Grinch for theft. I mean, his heart grew three sizes in the end, right? And he did return all the stuff....
ReplyDeleteThese are FICTIONAL CHARACTERS, people! Who are we kidding that just because Hollywood did it, it is okay? That just because the characters on Homeland can get away with it, it might be effective? Holy shit. I can barely stifle the bile.