More mailbag …
Subject: the law vs. survival
Josh,
I think that what I object about <$NoAd$>the Bush administration’s actions is that they are trying to legitimize torture. That is a significant change.
Realistically, there are times when a person decides to do whatever is necessary to survive. If you’re dead, having the law on your side doesn’t help much.
It occurs to me that it’s similar, in a strange way, to civil disobedience. In theory, civil disobedience means breaking the law to make a larger point. In such a case, the person breaking the law is willing to face the legal consequences in order to make that point. You might stage a sit-down strike. You don’t resist being arrested, but you might plead not-guilty and insist on a jury trial just to gum up the legal works and make yourself as inconvenient as possible to the authorities.
The point is torture has no legitimate place in U.S. law.
Regards,
Jim R.
See this June 7th post for more discussion of the point at issue here.
