A reader writes:
This is an eye opening event for me. It’s easier for a liberal like me, who voted against Bush twice, to feel I’m off the hook. But, clearly, I kept my eyes closed and my mouth shut. When I let talk of torture filter in, early on, such as keeping people awake and some of the accounts of Abu Ghraib, I kept drawing lines to things I wanted to believe. They’re keeping them awake? Oh, that must be like playing loud music. Like… they used on Noriega. Today, I have to ask myself why I didn’t take to the streets.
I guess I’m “lucky” again in that I have a President who believes in the rule of law. But where was I, a Jew, taught to say Never Again when I was growing up? My guess is that somewhere this evil satisfied a dark place in me. A generalized anger or rage that we can all walk around with at times. Why else was I content not to stare this evil in the face?
(Photo: a torture victim murdered while being beaten in a stress position by a masked US agent at Abu Ghraib.)