“Justice is measured in every society by how the worst malefactors are treated – the worst not only in culpability, but in capacity for general harm. The best way to combat terrorism is to wrap accused terrorists in the cloth of the law they would rip asunder. More important, to legalize the abuse of a class of prisoners is to prepare for the abuse of all” – James Carroll (Boston Globe, Sept. 18, 2006)
Glad news has arrived last week from Washington that compromise was reached in the debate over torture. Saner heads have prevailed, perhaps.
Dissident Republicans have joined with Democrats to deny President Bush permission to essentially legalize torture and sic its metaphorical attack dogs at the groin of more than a half century of international human rights treaties. Bipartisanship appears still alive, though battered and bruised and barely breathing.
That there would even be debate over torture begs the question of who we are, of what we have become in response to the attacks of Sept. 11. The rule of law both secular and heavenly makes plain that cruel and inhuman punishment is beneath the dignity of men and nations. One wonders: Did our dignity collapse in the rubble of the twin towers?
Why would anyone want to defend torture ever? Torture is an unqualified evil that stains our souls. Torments inflicted on body and mind violate the intrinsic dignity and worth of the human being and erode the character of the nation that tortures.
Moreover, how is it that those who profess to walk with God and speak his wishes condone or even authorize the harm of a human life believed made in his image? Jesus was tortured on the cross by the Roman Empire. How can any Christian support any kind of torture?
Torture is always wrong. Always. It is impermissible in all circumstances. Yes, this is moral absolutism. When it comes to torture, moral relativism leads us into the caves of our purported enemies, where we’ll end up meeting ourselves. Perhaps the “clarity” the President sought was his and our nation’s moral clarity?
Compromises unmonitored are often corrupted. Patriotic Americans inside of government, the military and the media must assiduously make certain this compromise holds, and that those in power never again permit torture. And to those who would: Know that one day your souls will be required of you.
Todd Huffman, M.D. lives in Eugene