The Importance Of Torture In America

As Americans, as a nation founded on the basis of fundamental human rights, and equality for all, torture is an unacceptable and inexcusable act that degrades us as a nation and as individuals. It debases us and makes us scarcely better than those we condemn. Just as a rose by any other name will smell just as sweet, torture by any other name remains just as deplorable. Young was on the right track when she declared torture a “slippery slope,” and if we declare it acceptable sometimes, there truly is no telling how far down that slope we will go (Young). You see, America has always been the stalwart defender of justice, the hero of the oppressed, and the beacon of light that shines around the world - we are the golden standard by which the
world lives by. Now, I shall not by any means presume that we are perfect. What we are, and always have been however, is a country ruled by our morals. We returned the Panama Canal. We destabilized the vicious Hussein regime. We were one of the ultimate reasons that Hitler’s reign of terror was halted. Yes, as a nation, we’ve made mistakes. But we have gone to great pains to rectify them. Torture however… it is a stain on the face of our nation that is very difficult to wash off. We can no longer say to the world that there are certain inviolable rights, that there shall be retribution for crimes against humanity. After all, how can the guilty prosecute the criminal? The truth is, in the debate for torture, a lot more than our good name is at stake. We risk the loss of our political conscience as a country, the loss of our own fundamental identities as Americans. After all, we as Americans fight not for a tribe, land or “twisted interpretation of an ancient religion.” We fight for an idea, the idea that all men are created equal and given inalienable rights by our creator (McCain). And we shall slowly lose our ability to defend those rights if we stoop to the level of our enemies. Our enemies are men, same as us, capable of kindness and humane treatment towards their enemies. They instead behave as cruel and base animals, targeting indiscriminately. Do we wish to become like that? Using any means necessary to accomplish a goal? Those who support torture will cite the oft-used ticking time bomb thought experiment. Allow us to briefly run under the assumption that this scenario is realistic and doesn’t fall apart if examined for more than thirty seconds. We have first-hand evidence that torture doesn’t work (McCain), that there are far more effective ways - such as psychological pressures or even simply humane treatment - to extract information (Dershowitz and Young), and the simple fact that we as a nation have a code of honor. Those who are pro-torture say that it’s necessary to save 1,000’s of lives. They proudly declare that “the ends justify the means.” The truth is, the torture argument is a microcosm for U.S. foreign policy and politics as a whole. If we adopt a position of acting solely “for the greater good,” we lose our own morals. For the greater good has been the underlying assumption of regimes and tyrants since the first empires. It is a position that we have seen doesn’t usually work out for the best; we most definitely shouldn’t adopt it now.
Governments and people around the world look to the U.S. as a beacon of hope and justice. We cannot let that beacon become overshadowed by this taint that has pervaded mankind for millennia, this cruel punishment that leaves its wretched mark on all who cross it. Torture is a moral absolute, and as thus, all men are equally bound by its ruling.