Missing the point

Pentagon to release photos of alleged prisoner abuse

As these photos are about to be released due to a FOIA lawsuit brought by the ACLU (not because Obama wants to, as some bloviate in the media), the furor continues to be aimed at the fact that the photos are being released rather than the abuse contained within them. Although I agree that with these photos being released we will experience some backlash, but I hate to break it to people, that backlash is already there. Unlike a good portion of Americans, a majority of the rest of the world knows and cares about the abuses that were going on, and they are outraged. Instead of worrying about the rest of the world finding out about the extent of the abuse (which, hey, considering laws are laws and no one should be above them, we as Americans should want to know too) we should be worried about atoning for it and making sure measures are put in place so that it never happens again.

Instead, here we are with the very same people who supported torture and "enhanced interrogation" because it saved American lives (of which there is ZERO evidence, and I challenge anyone who uses this excuse to find me some, not that it would matter anyway) expressing faux outrage at these photos being released and Nancy Pelosi mincing words about when she knew about the torture. It's like a fairytale. Instead of outrage about the fact that torture was supported at the presidential level, in our democracy, these people are pissed that that may be acknowledged. Now I'm with them in that if Nancy Pelosi knew about this going on and didn't stand up against it, that shows a serious flaw in judgment and voters should keep that in mind when they go to the polls in California. However, unless she broke some laws, we are skipping over the elephant in the room (AKA TORTURE!) to carry on about something decidedly less important. Only in America, where a good portion of the general populace seems to side with one political party or the other rather than their actual country can something this ridiculous occur. We should be Americans first, not Democrats or Republicans. Sadly I don't think that is the case, because if it were, there would be a whole lot more outrage at anyone and everyone (Bush, Cheney, Yoo, Pelosi, whoever) who had anything to do with torture becoming a tacit American policy, not just those on the other side of political aisle.

Finally, let's put it this way... if the American government is a government of "the people", as it is said, then when our government does things like torture people, it does it in our name. Therefore, it is our responsibility, and ours only, to ensure that our government does not do things that are against the laws that "we the people" have made. Or would we, as Americans, rather have a totalitarian government that can do whatever the hell it pleases and not be rebuked? What do we really stand for as Americans? This issue drills to the core of that. Either we believe in the law or we don't. This isn't about left and right or Republican or Democrat. This is about our country and the beliefs that we hold. If someone breaks the law, should they be punished? As soon as we start making exceptions it chips at the very foundation of our nation. No one should be above the law.