Political Cortex: Brain Food for the Body Politic

Lyndie England and troopers like her who humiliated and degraded detainees, and got caught on film, and have landed in jail. No matter what the field manual says, if you do something awful to a detainee, and you get caught (and I promise some of you will), you will be punished, scape-goated, and the officers and civilian officials above you in the chain of command will be able to say "Tsk, tsk, tsk... Such bad apples...."

But even more important than the risk of being tried and punished, what kind of person will you become if you spend significant time humiliating, degrading, and yes.... torturing people? If you are a person of any of the major faith traditions, what does your faith tell you about humiliating and degrading people? If you are a patriot, what kind of country will America be if we humiliate, degrade, and torture people?

As a member of the steering committee for a Bay Area interfaith peace organization, I recently wrote on the organization's behalf, a declaration of our support for a National Religious Campaign Against Torture.

Here's a small portion of what I wrote:

Imagine if one of your children, your husband or wife, your mother or father, sister or brother were dragged from your home in the dark of night, or snatched from the streets in the light of day, a hood placed over the head, flown to a far-off land, body stripped naked and thrown on the concrete floor of a bare cell. Day after day, loud music, bright lights, snarling dogs and endless interrogations make sleep impossible and waking hours a living hell. Temperatures alternate between hellish heat and freezing cold. Imagine his head held under a soaking towel, water poured over the towel and dripping into the covered nose and mouth, so much water seeping through until it felt like drowning. Imagine one day they remove the hood, so she can witness what appears to be the gang rape of another detainee. Later, a female guard walks into the cell, removes the hood again. The guard puts her hand into her own pants, pulls her hand out and smears what feels and smells like menstrual blood on the prisoner's face. Imagine your loved one sobbing alone in that cell, no idea if or when this ordeal will end, no idea if anyone outside the walls of this prison knows she is even alive. Weeks, months, even years go by, endless interrogation yielding nothing for there is nothing to yield, despite shackled hands and feet, a body chained in excruciating positions for hours at a time, skin smeared with excrement. Dignity and human kindness - are mere memories of the past.

Though we can not imagine many people in our community supporting such treatment, the President of the United States and his administration have approved each and every one of those acts as acceptable interrogation techniques. Even after Congress recently passed legislation banning such behavior, President Bush issued a carefully worded signing statement (commentary) indicating that he believes that as Commander in Chief, he is not constitutionally bound by that legislation.

As people of faith, including Buddhists, Christians, Jews, Muslims, and Unitarian Universalists, we are called to love every child, every human being who is part of God's holy creation. When any person is treated in a cruel, inhumane, or degrading way, it is as though such treatment were rendered against all of humanity. Multifaith Voices for Peace and Justice, a Bay Area interfaith peace organization, has joined with religious leaders across the United States to declare a National Religious Campaign Against Torture.

Click here to read the rest of the story, including links to back up the What If scenario.