I was listening in on NPR's(National Public Radio- http://www.npr.org/)program - Talk of the Nation,and one of the topics was Torture. The guest, Ariel Dorfman's Opinion in Sunday's Washington Post about the subject seems to have got a good response from its readers. Supposedly most of the readers are against Torture.
As I listened to his very Humane, compassionate, empathetic view, I wished every human being could feel like he did about torture. But, in the next instant, my realist side took over. I did think he forgot to consider that which is obvious, Human Nature.
In recent years, American citizens are becoming more aware of the concept of "torture" in what they thought were "Clean, good for the world" wars, that they fought around the world. Usually the word Torture is associated with some third world war that the Americans are usually divorced from. When the stories about Abu Gharaib and Gautanamo Bay came out, some of them were shocked while others cheered on. The shocked ones are right when they say "We, the civilized super power, should set a better example and obey the international laws" and the ones who cheer are right when they say "They asked for it, bringing down the world trade towers shouldn't go without punishment". The question of whether the war is really about curbing terrorism or for that matter is it really a war is an unanswerable one.
Throughout history, torture has been used in various forms to subdue/manipulate the "enemy". Some of the famous torture stories are the ones from the world war. Reading about them, I think, Human beings are the most creative when it comes to Inflicting pain on their own species. There are degrees of torture too, from subtle suggestions, to veiled threats, to open intimidation, to blatant physical abuse, to fatalities.
What do I think of torture? I know I don't like the idea, I know I haven't walked in the shoes of those who do it, I also know that I can't force others to think like I do. I know that torture is a reality of most interrogations in the world, be it by the police or by the military and it wouldn't change very much in the future, I think some situations warrant it, but I really don't know how the fine line between when to use it and when not to, can be drawn. So I really don't have a firm opinion. Maybe I will sit on the fence about this one, forever.
Is torture an effective way to gather pertinent information? The Jury is out on that. How reliable can information be, when it is obtained from someone under duress? I have no idea. Probably the person will agree with anything the torturer will say or will cook up a story along the suggested lines, just so that they can get out of the torture chamber. But, I haven't done any research on it, so I don't know.
If you look at torture as a weapon of war, it is a very effective one in subduing a large(enemy) population. Since no human being likes to jeopardize the things/people they care about deeply, the fear of torture makes most very co-operative. So reality according to me is that Torture is here to stay as long was we have a War. War is here to stay as long was human beings have no idea how to control their fear or their greed. I do believe in what Gandhiji said - "The world provides enough to feed the hungry but not enough to feed the Greedy". As long as each of us "Wants" more, there will always be Fear preoccupying our thoughts - "I have to protect my surplus". As long as there is Fear there will be a need to protect our interests and therefore for Weapons. As long as there are weapons, we will need to use them every now and then, to show how Powerful we are. Power in the Hands of Humbleness brings hope but Power in the Hands of Arrogance is dangerous.
As much as I am disgusted about the state of humanity, I am aware that I am part of it and what happens to others is in a way happening to me. I am also aware of the beautiful side to being Human, especially when I look at all those who work in the field of education, curbing hunger, taking care of the environment, working with small communities to curb poverty. Hopefully, we will learn before we self-destruct.
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