We tortured some folks.” It is both an admission and a description. It is both hopeful and frightening. It is both the truth and a slippery slope of modern politics that has crossed the bridge of American Moral Exceptionalism. The fact that we have at least admitted it gives one hope of correcting our error. The Cold War moral authority, and our unique voice for the oppressed, that was a contrast to totalitarian regimes has entered the murky justifications of moral relativism and situational ethics. Like so many things in our politics today we have lost our moral authority seduced by our fear and situationally self serving rationalizations. There is an old equation at play here that was often used by totalitarian regimes of the 20th century; the notion of freedom exchanged for security. It was, and is, measured in incremental loss of freedom with a net gain of security; a utilitarian conclusion of sacrificing little for the perceived gains of the many. What does the needs of an individual intrusion have to do with the gains of a collective security? An interesting equation and application of return on investment in capitalism terms if you prefer. It is suggested that the net gain is greater than the individual loss. I suspect we can all play with these rationalizations. Let me suggest something different. The compartmentalizations of such arguments does not accurately reflect the true loss. This is not an individualized argument but really a loss for all of us. The loss here is for us as a people, as a society, as a nation. The incremental erosion of our moral reality divorced from our constitutional liberties is something that cannot be so easily retrieved once lost. I know, that times are difficult. I know, in times of trouble, uncertainty, fear and inaction our basic nature is to circle the wagons. It is necessary for survival. However, there has been a price paid for many to get to where we are and it is a cheap honesty that would accept our moral, ethical and political failures as a reasonable substitute for the erosion of our civil liberties and civil responsibilities. Leadership, is not the ease of outcomes but an honoring of beliefs and convictions that define the Constitutional soul of a nation and the ideals of a people being slowly forgotten. We tortured some folks and lost much more, too easily, in the exchange as well. I am hopeful that the admission will be a way back to our salvation not merely an opening of our future demise.
Posted on: Fri, 22 Aug 2014 13:12:14 +0000
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