A wee bit baffled over this logic

Posted on | April 22, 2009 | 1 Comment

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
George Santayana, The Life of Reason, Volume 1, 1905

Peggy Noonan, Republican speechwriter and pundit, made this statement on the weekend concerning the Obama administration’s release of torture documents:

“Some things in life need to be mysterious,” “Sometimes you need to just keep walking. … It’s hard for me to look at a great nation issuing these documents and sending them out to the world and thinking, oh, much good will come of that.”

If the Republicans had discovered the Democrats were sanctioning torture, you bet your ass they would be releasing all the documents.

I’m a bit baffled how any member of the human race can maintain torture is just one of those little mysteries in life – it implies the torture somehow enriched someones existence. Her statements also have this little worm of deceit lurking in it that is saying by facing up to the nation’s use of torture and letting the light of day in, somehow, the Obama administration is being UnAmerican. True American’s would “just keep walking”.

Yes folks, turn a blind eye to what went on, “Move along, nothing to see here. It’s all over. Just keep moving along folks”. Don’t stop too long or you will see just how heinous the use of torture is. And when that moment arrives, there will be a reckoning. After years of employing torture, the Bush administration had bugger all to show for it. Torture someone long enough and they’ll tell you anything to stop it. Doesn’t mean you are getting the truth, just hearing what you want to hear.

The Republican party expended far more energy on Clinton’s extra marital affairs than they did protecting Americans from the erosion of freedoms and assaults on the US Constitution. They just marched in line with the Homeland Security fear mongers rather than risk questioning what was happening. Torture was just the cost of doing business.

It takes more courage for a nation to face up to it’s dark past. It takes none to bury it.

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Category: History, Law and order, Politics, Rants, Terrorism, War
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Comments

One Response to “A wee bit baffled over this logic”

  1. Cheysuli
    April 22nd, 2009 @ 11:03 pm

    We are appalled at all of this. It is one thing to torture, but our nation has the distinction of being a nation that tried to justify torture with legal arguments… yeah. Great. Boy am I proud. And then, there is the whole thing about not prosecuting those “who were just following orders”.

    While I don’t think those low level folks need be scape goated for the torture policies I find that commentary appalling. Am I the only one who remembers WWII history in the US?!