Torture is Un-American.
New revelations about the harsh interrogation and torture of detainees during the Bush administration years make headlines.
What do we know about how the American people in general have come to view the use of torture by the U.S. government? Americans have been questioned on this for almost five years
We have been asked, “Do you think the use of torture against suspected terrorists in order to gain important information can often be justified, sometimes be justified, rarely be justified, or never be justified?” The results have shown only minor fluctuations. The most recent numbers, from last month, reveal that 15% of Americans believe torture is often justified, 34% think it is sometimes justified, 22% consider it rarely justified, and 25% believe torture is never justified. So not only do 49% consider torture justified at least some of the time, fully 71% refuse to rule it out entirely.
After the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal, a national Gallup poll posed the question: “Here is a list of possible interrogation techniques that can be used on prisoners. Do you think it is right or wrong for the U.S. government to use them on prisoners suspected of having information about possible terrorist attacks against the United States?” In order of approval percentages, the survey found that 50% approved of depriving prisoners of sleep for several days; 36% approved of threatening to transfer prisoners to a country known for using torture; 29% approved of threatening prisoners with dogs; 18 % approved of forcing prisoners to remain naked and chained in uncomfortable positions in cold rooms for several hours; 14% approved of strapping prisoners on boards and forcing their heads underwater until they think they are drowning; and 13% approved of having female interrogators make physical contact with Muslim men during religious observances that prohibit such contact.
This makes me ashamed to be an American. Are we really so stupid that we believe torture works?
Come on people, time to stop thinking 24 is real. It’s just a TV show and Jack Bauer is a fictional character. Torture did not work for the Inquisition and it doesn’t work now. Have we really devolved back to asking people if they dance with the devil under the full moon? Tortured people will talk, yes; they will confess to whatever ridiculous, impossible, insane acts you want them to. It isn’t about telling the truth, it’s about stopping the pain, humiliation, and terror being inflicted on them.
And we should not be the ones inflicting it.
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