Why I Called My Senators Today

Today I called Senators McCaskell and Bond. I asked them to not allow the CIA to torture detainees or prisoners. It mattered today, because there was a push to force the CIA to operate according to the guidelines in the Army Field Manual during interrogations. The Army guidelines prohibit torture.

It continues to amaze me that we Americans allow torture to be done in our name, while at the same time we denounce such practices when done by other governments and groups. The recent debate over waterboarding and whether or not it amounts to torture is a prime case. It's been considered torture around the world for centuries--we even prosecuted Japanese officers in WWII and our own soldiers in Vietnam for doing it--but when we do it, it's all necessary and justified.

What is especially disturbing to me is that Christians would be okay with our government torturing other human beings. As people who claim to follow Jesus Christ--who was himself tortured--it makes no sense. Jesus commanded us to love our enemies, and loving them means at the very least not torturing them.

I found out about the debate in the Senate today from an e-mail forwarded to me by a friend. The e-mail was from NRCAT--National Religious Campaign Against Torture. I visited their web site and like what I see--plenty of United Church of Christ and Disciples of Christ ministers and laypeople are involved with this group. I'm glad there is a group out there that is giving voice in an organized way to the abhorrence religious people feel about the instances of torture done in our names as Americans.

At their site, I endorsed their basic mission statement, which reads:

Torture violates the basic dignity of the human person that all religions, in their highest ideals, hold dear. It degrades everyone involved -- policy-makers, perpetrators and victims. It contradicts our nation's most cherished ideals. Any policies that permit torture and inhumane treatment are shocking and morally intolerable.

Nothing less is at stake in the torture abuse crisis than the soul of our nation. What does it signify if torture is condemned in word but allowed in deed? Let America abolish torture now -- without exceptions.

I guess a possible reason as to why more people aren't outraged over torture is because we have somehow grown desensitized to it. Given that most of the horror movies that are out involve the capturing and torturing of victims and that most of the spy shows on TV and espionage thrillers at the movies show good guys committing torture, is it any wonder that torture is now viewed as entertainment rather than as what it is--the dehumanization of a person? Add to this some misguided patriotism and a whole lot of fear and I guess you've got an electorate that really just doesn't care if this kind of thing happens in their name.

I read a quotation today from Maya Angelou that describes well how I feel about torture:

"I would like to think that the mean-spirited were created by another force and under the aegis and direction of something other than my God. But since I believe that God created all things, I am not only constrained to know that the oppressor is a child of God, but also obligated to try to treat him or her as a child of God..."

Grace and Peace,

Chase