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Waterboarding. This is the topic for debate in our modern world. We go on and on about progress in civilization, yet we're talking about torture. Here are three recent views on the subject: This Modern World, The Onion, and Doonesbury. It's the torture satire trifecta.
(And for those who stay with us, a bonus feature for the atheists with the Doonesbury reference below.)
(source)
WASHINGTON--National Water Watch, a Washington-based conservation group, criticized the government's use of waterboarding Monday, calling the practice of stuffing a cloth into a detainee's mouth, immobilizing him, and pouring water over his face and body to simulate the sensation of drowning "a tragic waste of resources." "The idea that the United States could condone the despicable act of squandering several pitchers of water is shameful," NWW spokesman Gregory Hammil said. "It is amoral, unconscionable, and in direct opposition to all internationally recognized water- saving techniques." Hammil recommended the government switch to more eco-friendly means of enhanced interrogation, such as waterboarding with a return-hose device in order to reuse old water, or simply beating suspected terrorists to a bloody pulp.
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Comments
I like the writing of Susan R. Matthews (not everyone does, just check the reviews at Amazon). 'If Tolstoy Wrote SF'...or something, your mileage may vary. The protagonist is a classic Golden Child, inheriting son of a powerful corporate family (it's SF; they own some planets), in short, he has everything going for him. After medical school (Golden Child, remember?) Daddy sends him to Fleet, but since they're rich and powerful, the only medical rank that will suit is Chief Medical Officer...which also happens to have a dual role as Inquisitor, that is, the torturer for the dystopic government.
It's truly cruel that Ms. Matthews plays the dirty trick of getting the reader to like the protagonist and then introducing us to his messy bits, because as it turns out, Mr. Golden Child discovers that he likes torturing people. On a literary level, this allows the reader to consider his or her shadow side and experience the most frightening part of the hero's journey in a safe environment (your bed, 3 AM, if reader reports about not being able to put the books down can be believed).
Ms. Matthews is very effective at invoking a strong emotional reaction, partly (or maybe even mostly) because when her first book was published in 1997, almost everyone would agree that torture is wrong, enjoying torture is morally abhorrent and therefore the protagonist is a monster (if only an ordinary one).
Never, never, not in my worst nightmares (my mother was a teen in Nazi Germany, my father was a teen getting blown out of foxholes at Okinawa; our family history is rich with walking nightmares) could I imagine that the United States of America would consider torture to be desirable, never mind morally sound or even effective.
Ms. Matthews’ protagonist eventually takes a stand. He’s an obedient son, so it takes four or five books, but he does get there. “The Rule of Law is no excuse for torture.” And it doesn’t work. It’s expensive. It destabilizes societies. How many books will it take for us to realize it?
Did I mention how much I like Ms. Matthews’ writing? Read the books, learn to grapple with the darkness, and maybe you’ll learn how to grapple with the darkness growing at the heart of our society. I hope it’s not too late.
Posted by: Tree | December 7, 2007 9:45 PM