Torture

Don’t ask me why, but the other day I found myself watching Sean Hannity’s show… I told you not to ask me why. Anyway, he has a segment called Great American Panel, a format that I think he took from Bill Mahar. On this show they were talking about Torture, a topic that seems to be raging at the moment. The argument one of the guests was making, an argument that is often made by right leaning individuals, is that when American lives are hanging in the balence, anything goes (or at least anything should). Then came the illustration. The guest stated that if they found them selves in a situation where waterboarding someone was the only way to save one of their loved ones, then by god they would have no problem getting the waterboard out. As if the irrational behavior one exhibits in the face of a life threatening situation of a loved one serves as the basis for formulating a national policy on torture. I guess this argument is compelling enough for some people. The only problem is what you as an individual would do to get information from someone that would potentially save the life of a loved one has nothing to do with the ongoing torture debate. For these individuals to say that somehow we as the United States are allowed to use whatever force necessary and not expect that same treatment of our POWs in return is unreasonable. Framing the argument in such a way that pits a terrorist againts your grandmother and asking how far would you go to save your dear granny is not an appropriate comparison. Of course you would implement some pretty drastic measures. I know that I am against torture, yet I wouldn’t think twice about using any and all necessary force if I felt a loved one was in danger.

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