(thanks to David Flanders....)
I woke up, naked, strapped to a bed, in a very white room. The room measured approximately 4m x 4m [13 feet by 13 feet]. The room had three solid walls, with the fourth wall consisting of metal bars separating it from a larger room. I am not sure how long I remained in the bed....
I'm here to reveal an emotion that I never, ever thought I would feel in my lifetime. I'm ashamed to be an American. Yes, I understand that I live in the most powerful and successful country in the world, and I suppose those are good things...and they're certainly not what has created such a pronounced sense of shame in me. No, I'm ashamed of my country for a very simple reason- my country engages in torture. For the past few years, our government has engaged in a systematic, little-discussed, and yet apparently extensively documented program of mistreatment and torture...all in the name of the Almighty, all-inclusive, anything-we-say-it-is, never-ending Global War on Terror. In the name of getting "them" before they get us, we've condoned a system of illegal, Kafkaesque torture in which the accused, if they're even allowed the luxury of being informed as to what they are accused of, have no rights. They're denied access to family, legal representation, and anything that might provide them a spark of hope. Because most of the "enemy combatants" have never been charged with a crime, they've existed in a sort of legal limbo in which, for all intents and purposes, they've ceased to exist as individuals.
The worst part of this sorry scenario is that it's very likely that most of those held as "enemy combatants", or whatever you happen to choose to call them, are innocent. The only crime they're guilty of is being swarthy, prayimg to a different flavor of God, and being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
So how did we go from being the beacon of truth, justice, and freedom to being a nation ruled by thugs with no respect for the rule of law and our international treaty obligations? Easy; WE ALLOWED IT TO HAPPEN. We simply stopped paying attention, and we allowed ourselves to be scared stupid by those who used the specter of another 9.11 to dismantle our respect for the rule of law and the human rights of those who happen to think, believe, and pray differently.
For the past several years, we've sat idly by why our government engaged in torture and the denial of basic human rights...all in the name of keeping us safe from the terrorist bogeyman. (Well, we haven't bee hit since 9.11, don'tchaknow?? Cue the Darryl Worley clip in 4...3...2....) This behavior is not by any means representative of the better angels of what used to be the freest and most powerful nation in the world. Somewhere along the way, we managed to lose our way, allowing ourselves to be ruled by our fear and by those who would manipulate that fear for their own advantage. George W. Bush and Dick Cheney may well be responsible and criminally culpable for the reality that America does in fact torture. In reality, though, we ALL bear responsibility for allowing our government to behave in such a reprehensible and shameful manner.
Yes, I'm ashamed of my country. This is not the America I grew up believing in. This is not the land of opportunity, equality, and freedom I was taught that America aspired to be. I'm ashamed of what my country has become, and I'm embarrassed that as a nation we've simply stopped caring about how we regard and treat those who happen to live and believe differently. Surely, we're better than this...aren't we? Apparently not...and it's time to stop thinking that we're somehow better and more enlightened than the rest of the world. That train- if it ever stopped here to start with- has long since left the station.
