You don't get to be outraged by beheadings and torture.
An essay written by my neighbor Jason Twombly. Reprinted here with his permission.
You don't get to be outraged by beheading, and torture by Islamist, and then be okay with torture by the CIA.
If you believe "anything is fair" in the war on terror, you are no different then the enemy. They believe anything is fair. We are civilized, and yes that means we fight with one hand behind our back.
I for one believe that America, could be a shining city on a hill, a beacon of truth and honor, a light in a dark world. I know that we have a long way to go to achieve this American Dream, but we must always be moving towards it, not away from it.
Greed, fear, and ignorance have derailed the dream, Kennedy's dream, Reagan's dream, our common dream. It is time for all of us to let go our fears, put aside our differences, stop taking sides, and all side with the ideals of truth, and justice in America.
I hear the refrain, "we were scared after 9/11", and it angers me. Speak for yourself, you were scared, not all of us were scared. Personally I was angry, I was resolved, I knew hard work, and hard choices lay ahead for this great nation.
I looked to our leadership, and put aside my natural mistrust in conservatives, in government, and waited to see what was needed of me.
I was told, to "shop", to travel, and go on living like nothing happened. I was told we must invade Iraq, and Afghanistan. I was told to wait in long lines at the airport, and that inhumane treatment of prisoners was acceptable.
If our leaders failed us, if they acted out of fear, we can forgive their cowardice, but we can not forgive their crimes. When WWII ended, and the German people learned the truth of the actions of their leaders. When they learned what was done for the "greater good", they were ashamed, they were not proud, they demanded justice. Certainly there were some who felt it was acceptable, that their leaders did the right thing, but they were wrong.
You can say two rights make a wrong, or that this is a new kind of war. You can say you condone torture of our enemies, that is your right. I tell you this, you are wrong. I promise you this, I will continue to stand on the moral high ground, I will continue to try and build that shining city on the hill.
Know that you are always welcome to join me in this endeavor, but here on the hill, we don't torture.
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