[This is an invited post by my longtime friend and colleague Dr Wayne Hullett that expands on his comment under the 16feb16 Sandbox. gjr]
Wayne Hullett
"Civilization is hideously fragile… there’s not much between us and the Horrors underneath, just about a coat of varnish." – C.P. Snow
"Civilization: a thin veneer over barbarianism." – John M. Shanahan, The Most Brilliant Thoughts of All Time (In Two Lines or Less)
Modern humans have been on the earth for around 200,000 years, yet it is only within the last 0.1% of that time (200 years or so) that western civilization, at least, has mostly eliminated torture, thus demonstrating that a civilized society can exist without this barbaric practice. With us as an example, and with the rest of the world gradually becoming modernized, there is reasonable hope that it will eventually follow suit.
Donald Trump's statement advocating torture puts him in favor of erasing this hard won gain on the long climb to civilization by legitimizing torture as a matter of national policy. He would admit (and in fact he has already publicly admitted) to the world that he believes that the most powerful nation on earth cannot exist without the use of torture.
I do not expect western civilization's forbearance of this practice to significantly influence the immediate actions of our enemies whose barbarism is the very reason that they are enemies, except that if we use torture, our enemies will use that fact to justify their use of that terrible practice and will likely redouble their efforts. If the US legitimizes torture, I think that a "torture arms race" will ensue – with countries researching ways to inflict the maximum pain possible on their hapless victims, and with accompanying medical research on how to keep them alive in order to feel the pain for as long as possible. Captured Americans will be subject to hideous tortures. Squads will be sent out to try to capture servicemen and women for the express purpose of torturing them, possibly even shown on TV. Would you want your son or grandson to be in that situation? Or your daughter or granddaughter, as more females go into combat roles?
I can even envision civilian citizens (working on highly classified projects, for example) being kidnapped off the streets and out of their homes and spirited out of the country for torture to extract classified information. What if one of these targets had a name similar to yours, and a van pulls up in front of your house at 3:00 AM and you and your loved ones are taken by mistake? How far down the slippery slope is torturing children in front of their parents in order to extract information from the parents. And what if you did not have the information sought?
While I do not deny that torture still happens, it is deplorable, it is illegal, and it is wrong. Trump's approach is a giant step backward for a species that is still striving to become civilized. Even if he changes his mind, the damage is already done. The world already sees him as a torturer. The only way for us as citizens to override that perception, redeem ourselves in the eyes of the world and avoid backsliding into barbarism is to soundly defeat his bid for the presidency. For my part, I would rather have another four years of gridlock than see our country go down his terrible path.
rebanesruminations.com 
Leave a comment