Torture and the Golden Rule

[salib]

Well, I had to do it. I am so surprised personally that no one seemed to see the connection between the prison torture that we have committed (in Iraq, Afghanistan, etc.), the Geneva Convention, and the Golden Rule. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”, is how I remember it. I also know as much as I know anything, that it is precisely this moral imperative that drives a pact like the Geneva Convention. EVEN IN TIMES OF WAR, no matter how heinous the other side behaves, we recognize basic human and moral values. And the golden rule is top among them. We treat prisoners from “the other side” just as we would want and expect ours to be treated. There is nothing to be gained by breaking this covenant, only our soul to be lost.

Now, I thought that this would be a fairly common conclusion. So, before I “fired off” this letter, I thought I should at least “Google it.” I.e., I typed in “Iraqi prisoner abuse golden rule” in the search text box. To my surprise two things struck me. The first two “hits” were on a speech given by our President, George Bush, at Lutheran College in Wisconsin. However, there was NO connection between the concepts of “Iraqi prisoner abuse” and “Golden Rule.” Instead, in the reference to the “Golden Rule”, “Bush drew heavily from Christian teachings in urging the graduates to reach out to less privileged Americans. He said the Golden Rule's exhortation to treat others as you would like to be treated ‘is more than a familiar saying; it is the foundation of a meaningful life.’”

Wouldn’t that be a wonderful way to address the torture in the prisons we run in Iraq. However, “never the t’wain shall meet.” Instead, when referring to the “abuses” of Iraqi prisoners”, Mr. Bush said “We have recently seen how much difference, for good or ill, the choices of individual men and women can make. In Iraq, the cruelty of a few has brought discredit to their uniform and embarrassment to our country."

According to the article, “The crowd rose for an ovation when Bush added that ‘those failures cannot diminish the honor and achievement of more than 200,000 military personnel’ who have served in Iraq.”

But they do. They do. If we are really to abide by the Golden Rule, then we have much to atone for. And, evidently, it is not simply the choices of a few “on the ground” in Iraq. Instead, it was evidently a concerted policy, at least at the level of “the Pentagon.”

Still, I thought, someone must see the connection between the Golden Rule and the Geneva Convention and torture of Iraqi prisoners. That Google search proved true. I did find an article in the Charlotte Observer. There, children aged 13-17 presented what I thought was the real issue: that the treatment of Iraqi prisoners, or any prisoners, should reflect the Golden Rule. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. There is wisdom in those words, and in those children. Perhaps we are indeed teaching our children well. So why are our grown-up children not living up to that education in Iraq? And, more importantly, why are the not so recent children in the White House still behaving like they never learned?

Why does such a Google search, that on the face of it is so obviously a tautology, so mute? Do we really have so much yet to teach? Have we failed so badly in our attempt to teach it in the past?

[checks-n-balances]

1. I agree totally - I've thought of that connection, too

except it's more like there's a huge DISconnect between the torture and The Golden Rule. Anyone, religious or not, can subscribe to such a rule. It's so obvious, and thank God for the Geneva Convention rules, because what they're saying is that, even in war, there IS such a thing.

In a way, it's kind of like the theology I've learned about God from my own church tradition. It's that there's no realm of our lives that is off-limits to doing the right thing and treating others like our brothers and sisters. There's no part of life that doesn't have to be held to an ethical standard. It seems that in the RW neo-con mindset, we're supposed to be "good" to our friends and with regard to sex, but when it comes to business dealings and war - no, sorry, that's a whole different ballgame. "The end justifies the means." I like to quote MLK every time I can. About that statement, he remarked that "the end is pre-existent in the means," i.e. the goal you're striving for isn't worth the things you have to do to get it.

All we have to do is look at the recent evidence that reveals the lie within those "all's fair..." beliefs and policies.

In the long run, who knows how heavy a price will be paid for these actions?

But back to your point: If these things had been done on OUR soil to OUR people, you'd better believe the outcry would be deafening. We've definitely gotten worse at empathizing with others. And so the cycles of violence and vengeance continue into the future...