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The op-ed piece, by Anne Applebaum, titled "The Torture Myth" summarizes the pros and cons (but mainly the cons) about the use of torture and its effectiveness in recent wars. This article has shown me that although torture has been a widely used method of obtaining information, it has not necessarily been effective and that not using torture has actually been more effective than using it. It has also pointed out to me that torture only leads to reciprocation from the other warring party. The op-ed piece in itself is convincing by showing the ineffectiveness of torture from the direct experiences of veterans from modern wars. But it does not answer the question: Is torture right or wrong? The piece as a whole suggests that torture wrong from an objective point of view, but does not mention the morality of it. The purpose of this piece has been well fulfilled: it successfully debunked the myth that torture is an effective method of obtaining information. However, for the piece to be well rounded and be more useful to a clueless person such as myself, a section about the morality of torture would improve the piece as a whole.
As someone who did not get into much politics until this year, I do not have a personal, concrete opinion on torture. However, reading pieces from people who have such certain opinions regarding politics made me notice things about torture that I have not noticed before. Reading the pieces by Dershowitz and Scarry has made me realize two things: 1. Torture is immoral but neither is war; and 2. Torture can be justified in the eyes of the American judicial system. Though my personal studies on torture are not as diverse and in depth as Dershowitz and Scarry, I would have to agree with Scarry more as I believe that Dershowitz believes that the safety of innocent people is more important than the safety of guilty people, which takes away from the main fact that we are all, in the end, just people.
I agree with Applebaum's argument that torture is not an effective method. It not only goes against moral codes but under such terrible conditions, the one who is being tortured is likely to produce any type of response that satisfies the torturer. The type of people the government tries to torture are those who have a very strong belief toward their cause and who are in most cases willingly to sacrifice their lives for their "cause". Thus, torture is mostly likely not going to work.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Dershowitz and Scarry most likely have been exposed more on the topic of torture than all of us have been studying their responses, I feel that you prove a solid point in that Dershowitz seems to defend more along the sides of the innocent majority rather than a potentially innocent minority. It seems almost hypocritical to mention the idea of innocence in that sense. Although the op-ed did not explicitly touch upon the moral righteousness or lack thereof of torture, Dershowitz and Scarry both create a clear stance that torture in itself if immoral. But if Dershowitz sees the merit in torture, even if it's given selectively, I don't think it's fair for him to deem torture as unethical. You mentioned this concept of innocence that Dershowitz uses to defend torture warrants. I also believe it contradicts itself in the way you illustrated it. However, if we were to cancel out the moral idea of preserving innocence no matter how big or small, one can argue in support of torture warrants based on the amount of lives saved, regardless of innocence or fault. The issue of torture warrants or torture by extension comes down to be a moral one as much as it can be argued pragmatically.
ReplyDeleteDon't you think that a government is obligated to protect its own citizens? I totally agree that no human life is worth more than the other, but each government is required to protect its own citizens. If a government around the world cannot keep its citizens in check what should stop our own government from torturing them.
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