So fucking tired

[nancylebov]

NPR is interviewing an anti-torture guy from the ACLU, which is fine. Someone calls in to say that terrorists treat people really badly, so why should we do anything differently? The anti-torture guy says, "Because we're Americans."

I have this werid belief in universal values. I would like Americans to not torture because they have some respect for people and for truth and for the long run. I want Americans to behave decently because it's worth doing, not because it's a special American thing.

Comments

[madfilkentist]

Very nicely put. Saying "Because we're Americans" serves as a reminder that Americans should, by the principles under which the country was founded, abjure torture. Sure, America has repeatedly veered far from those principles. But there have always been people holding them up, pointing out that the deviation betrays the things that keep the country from going down the tubes. It has made a difference. I don't think there's any other country where the statement "It's unconstitutional" or the local equivalent is so damning an indictment.