Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Life in 24 World

The conservative blogger Lorie Byrd has a post that like many other conservatives tries to justify that we tortured people in the name of safety.

The Handcuffs We Willingly Wear

In the posting is the usual justifications of Bush kept us safe after 9-ll, liberals don't get it, the Democrats in Congress knew what was happening and so on and so on. There was one passage that did catch my eye and I think really gets the heart on where the left and right disagree on the torture issue.

"Some Democrats, including the President, currently succumbing to the howls from their rabid base, may want to remember that even in a country that now takes its safety somewhat for granted, Jack Bauer is the hero of the television show “24,” not the villain."

Jack Bauer is the hero of "24". To most of the right the world is a big and scary like on "24" where the clock is always ticking and we are hours away from our doom, but thanks to big bad Jack doing what needs to be done we are safe from peril.

This overlooks that "24" was created by a conservative who believes in that style of aggressive foreign policy, and is based on the ticking bomb justification for torture that very rarely actually happens in real life. It also does not deal with two sticky points that the right overlooks or just dismisses. One we agreed as a country that would not use such techniques. Two torture is simply not the most effective method of getting information. You can not depend on this intel because it may be true or may simply be a way for the tortured person to stop what was causing pain.

So to all conservatives out there please put the dvds of "24" and join us back in the real world where America is the shining beckon of behavior again. Besides all the twisting yourself into knots to morally justify torture can't be good for your back.

1 comment:

  1. The ticking time bomb scenario justifies absolutely anything. If it's all right to waterboard someone because it will stop a bomb from going off, then it's all right to pull out their fingernails, draw them, quarter them, put them on the rack, in the iron maiden, flog, rape, or even keel-haul them.

    If someone buys into the 24 mythology, then they ought to have no trouble justifying the rape of small children in the name of the grater safety, because after all, what could be worse than the loss of innocent life?

    If someone drops the ticking time bomb in your lap, then they haven't really thought torture all the way through.

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