An interesting fact about those nations conquered by the Roman Empire was that many of them didn't mind. Being a Roman citizen had its advantages in many respects, and among the more significant of these were certain rights, such as the right never to be crucified. Crucifixion was believed to be a suitable end for barbarians and heathens but not for those protected by the Roman Empire, who had the gods on their side or whatever other justification there was for this. This didn't stop the Romans from crucifying others, of course. That means that if Jesus had been a Roman citizen, the Crucifixion (you know the one I mean) would never have happened; that is, if it did happen.
This kind of double standard is foreign to the ideals the United States was founded on. Take, for instance, the Declaration of Independence—“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” All men. This is not in any conceivable way a treatise on the rights of Americans. These are claims about human rights, rights that every person on the planet has just by virtue of being a human being. This is an ideal we have strived for and fallen short of since the conception of our nation, and our darkest moments have been when we have neglected this legacy (slavery, oppression of women, racism, even Vietnam). But at the end of the day we justify our existence because we claim to be a beacon to the world of how all people should be treated, regardless of who you are and where you come from. There is no double standard, or so they say...
This is a painting by Vann Nath about his experience being tortured by the Khmer Rouge. The caption on Conservapedia about this painting (which I refuse to link to) is: "A wall-painting found at a Vietnamese POW camp illustrating waterboarding being used against an American prisoner."I am getting sick and tired of hearing the pragmatic arguments for defending torture. Jesse Ventura is right to question why these instruments are not used against American citizens if they are so “useful" [See video at bottom of page]. I could cite plenty of information that proves that torture does not work 1 2 3, but engaging in this conversation is allowing the Right to define this debate. It is not about pragmatism and it's not about whether it works or not. It's about human rights.
The only question is: Would we allow these means to be used on American citizens if it was deemed practical? And if no, why? Is it because, like the Romans, we deem our own citizens to have more rights then non citizens?
We have allowed ourselves to become convinced that American citizenship privileges us beyond the human rights that everyone on earth shares. You can see this when we, even on the Left, protest at the harsh treatment of some American citizens while foreign detainees endure far worse (held without trial or counsel, no speedy trial, etc). Is this petty self-protection? Do we really not care about abuse as long as we know we ourselves cannot suffer it because we are arbitrarily defined as "citizens?" Or worse, have we allowed ourselves to be convinced that people from other parts of the world just are not as human as we are, that people of other races do not have the rights that we have claimed are "inalienable?"
It strikes me as odd that most of the pro-torture crowd is overly represented by regular church goers. It seems that a lot of people missed the memo about God granting these rights and not the American government. The people we are torturing were created by God, according to the party line. How dare they pretend to "love all of God's creations" on the one hand and clutch such a double standard with the other—and just to buy themselves a little false security. Talk about hypocrisy!
I must admit that I have never really been moved by discussions of our founding fathers' intentions or staying true to the letter of the constitution. But for the sake of fidelity with our ideals, we must not forget our dedication to the rights of all humans, regardless of who they are or what they stand for. We must not allow the Right to convince us that Americans are special, that we are more human than non-citizens, that we are someone more valuable. That is not consistent, it is not viable, and it is not true.
