It has been interesting to watch the Conservative commentators and “talking heads” on TV this week. They are obviously trying not to swallow the bitter bile of erosion of Conservative Principles and personal freedoms guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution under their erstwhile leader President George W. Bush. This erosion, and a growth of a more powerful executive, is exactly the kind of behavior that would have been expected of Liberals playing fast and loose with the Constitution. No wonder that so many Republicans running in tight races have been edging as far away from the President as possible. Even Republicans don’t believe him any more. Why? Because George is the current world’s champion pusher of torture. Tisk, tisk. Secreting battlefield captives in foreign prisons for the purpose of somewhat forceful interrogations. Water boarding we know about. This is only a modern variation of the colonial dunking stool, and just as effective as it has always been. Electric shocks and current applied to various delicate and quite tender tissues is not discussed. Injections of will bending drugs, including forced addiction, is never discussed. Hot and cold water under pressure is not discussed. All are effective. So are scientifically applied beatings. A Conservative, at least the kind of Conservative that I grew up understanding, would be absolutely revolted by the actions of this President vis a vis the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The use of Guantanamo as a prison with no attorneys and no limit to incarceration is a criminal affront to our traditional rule of law. Even for non-citizens. Even for non-uniformed combatants. This is not anything close to Compassionate Conservatism. Assemble tribunals, try the terrorists, convict them, and execute them. I will not complain. Good riddance to bad trash. Better done quickly with minimum fuss and minimum expense for burial of solid wastes. Some of us believe that it is entirely possible to live within the rules of law as they exist and still combat Islamic fascist terrorists. Of course, you do have to want to do it this way. I will be generous to those with a different frame of mind. I concede that there may be special emergency situations where these niceties cannot be followed without foolish risk to large numbers of lives. Yes, it may be necessary in very special circumstances to resort to very violent physical torture. Answers may be needed quickly. It is possible. The circumstances are however generally unlikely and would always fall into the “special” category. Every situation cannot be “special”. Special implies a “rare” condition. Some evidence must exist beyond a simple anti-social, criminal desire to inflict pain upon a helpless living human being who cannot resist. There is only one way to make sure that “special” remains “special” and “rare”. We have to be as equally willing to use torture as we are to punish those who torture for us. That is correct. We need a special cadre of trained specialists, volunteers, who will do the dirty deed for us. These volunteers would also then accept the approbation and penalties if their judgment was wrong as to the applicability of the need for actual torture in violation of established law. This is nothing new. For centuries military officers have been trained to know that sometimes it is necessary to step over the line. They are also trained to know that when they do, sure and swift punishment awaits. Unless, ah, the unless, it turns out that they were correct, and that the line should have been broken. It is a very sharp edge upon which they trod. It is simply that sometimes their duty requires them to sacrifice lives, including their own, to accomplish the mission, or for the good of the service (nation). That is hard. Life is like that. No easy answers. If the answer is easy, the question is probably not very important. It is not a contradiction to praise and punish for the same act. Praise for the ability to see the necessity to go beyond the rules, and the strength of character to rise above any consideration of personal consequences, and give all of themselves to the greater consideration. Punishment which also follows for the clear violation of established law. Thus we have the phrase, “No good deed goes unpunished.” The terrorists believe in their cause. Some are willing to die for that cause. Those that believe in the waiting 72 virgins for martyrs are simply idiots, or are brainwashed idiots. It doesn’t make them less dangerous. A honeybee is not all that smart, and is willing to sacrifice herself to a horrible eviscerated death for the good of the hive. There are ways to deal with the dangers of honeybees. We will find the ways to deal with idiot fascist martyrs. Can it be possible for us to have a viable society if there are no individuals who are willing to sacrifice themselves for our cause? Have we redefined true martyrs? There is no need for a leader to order anyone to sacrifice him / her self. William Shakespeare taught us the method. Ask, “Is there no one who will rid me of this troublesome priest?” We in the West disrespect our heroes all the time. It is our suspicious nature. Or jealousy. Examples are too numerous to list. This is nothing new. If they couldn’t take it, they wouldn’t be heroes. It is entirely appropriate to hang a medal on such a hero, and then hang the hero. Again, examples are too numerous to list. This apparently stupid action allows both a preservation of society and respect for the law. That is why heads of state are given the power of the pardon. They are supposed to be smart enough to use the pardon wisely. It is the last chance to right such an obvious wrong, quietly so as not to upset the children who are too young to understand. This method solves all the problems. Supposing the capture of a terrorist in some bunker, or a remote battlefield. Further, suppose some evidence exists to indicate that he has been involved in the manufacture, assembly of, or transportation of radioactive nuclear material. He may, in fact, have definite evidence, or information about a nuclear device in a pipeline leading to a detonation in a U. S. city. Hundreds of thousands of American lives are at stake. Time is of the essence. Is there anyone so stupid to believe that this terrorist’s right to humane treatment in captivity is more important than hundreds of thousands of lives? If you do, I am willing to call you insane. If you are an office holder, you should resign immediately. If you do not, your constituents should immediately begin recall measures. In such a circumstance, I’m willing to connect a heart and lung machine to keep the subject alive until answers are found and proved. At some point, just pull the plug and bury the rest, especially if the detonation cannot be stopped. After that event, a different set of attitudes and priorities will, I am sure, become the new rules. In less highly charged, but very dangerous situations, an occasional sacrificial goat may be necessarily delivered to the public altar to meet the demands of those who insist on hair splitting and rule following even in the face of nuclear explosions.
(c) Copyright 2006: George Wallace recently published a book on religion which lashes out at nearly all of the comfortable ideas about God, the trappings of organized religion, and the priesthood. His pithy comments and suggestions for a return to a God-centered personal religion will interest everyone. This article may be freely reprinted so long as all copyright attributions, and the full content of this resource box are included. www.OhGodIsThatYou.com
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