State of the Union

Dwight Welch's A Religious Liberal Blog has an important post (dated June 17) about Republicans' response to allegations of U.S.-led torture in Guantanamo and other prisons around the world: Attack the messenger, don't deal with the message. After outlining the techniques of torture approved by our U.S. government (as documented by Amnesty International), Dwight concludes:

But the right's attacks on the messenger and not on the torture itself destroys any claims they may have to moral authority. It sadly raises the issue, both with the religious as well as the secular right: Are they against torture? Has this become a partisan issue? Honestly? Until we take seriously the proposition that all people are of God, and therefore worthy of basic human rights, any claims to the religious or the moral will be nothing but a lie.

We are living in a country that has mainstreamed torture, led by an administration that attacks anyone who dares to question it. Led by a president who quotes scripture and talks about "a culture of life" while sending thousands of soldiers off to die in an unjust war. Led by lawmakers who, through the "Patriot Act" and other fascist legislation, are doing away, here in America, with the very freedoms we are allegedly spreading throughout the world.

The most truly-patriotic thing we can do in this environment is to support two organizations that are standing up for human rights and civil liberties: Amnesty International and the American Civil Liberties Union. Only if we stand together in support of basic human rights and freedoms can we avoid turning into another Nazi Germany or Soviet Russia.

Darrell
www.WildFaith.com