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Responsibility for the last seven years
How can someone who urged in 2003 that torture occur in the "dark rooms" today insist that they never supported torture?
Glenn Greenwald [2008-04-11]

  • Practicality vs. Principle

    Something occurs to me that I don't think has been stated explicitly, yet.

    The arguments "in favor of" torture seem always to be made from the perspective of practicality. "IF a torturer saves a million lives, he'll be thanked, not indicted."

    The universal arguments against torture are made from the perspective of principle. By people do not believe torture can ever be justified "morally."

    The intersection of these positions on torture occurs within many people for themselves: people WANT to hold the principle and conviction to condemn torture in every situation, but they also (at least, some of them) recognize their own impulses to vengeance and sadism and might quite readily admit, "If my child's life were in danger, I'd do anything."

    Let's not make light of that cognitive dissonance. People who engage in this kind of psychic exercise can often get confused about their "thoughts" vs. their "feelings" vs. what they "know" to be true about the world.

    I guess my point on all that is just that I feel a bit sympathetic to McArdle, because I don't think she really has fully sussed-out what she's talking about, but she knows its upsetting.

    As for me...

    I universally advocate both de facto and de jure prohibition of torture in ALL circumstances and situations, and I have no problem with that.

    I also fully recognize my own personal weakness, and if I were presented with the "magical situation," I'd torture someone in a heartbeat. I'd also confess, fully expect to go to prison, and likely be murdered within the first week.

    But I'd die in prison knowing that I had done what I believed/felt/knew had to be done, and I'd make no excuse for it.

    I suspect that the catch for most folks is that they can imagine the same "magical situation" in which they could play torturer, but they cannot accept the reality that this means they don't have hearts of gold.

    In other words, "It would be nicer if I could get away with torturing someone, and everyone else would believe me when I said I did it with the purest intentions."

    Sorry, no, not possibly.

    -- blunderdog
    [Read blunderdog's other letters]
    Friday, April 11, 2008 04:41 PM
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