Torture

I think the Stanford prison experiment is a really important link to keep in mind here! I'm glad you linked it in here. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, and that's why one of the first steps in preventng tragedies like this is to put checks and regulations (ex the Geneva Convention regulations)and perhaps create extremely harsh penalties for disobeying them?

In any case, a check must be put on the power of interrogator -- or in this case, history will just repeat itself.

I would have to say that I felt pretty much the same way you did when it came down to our government and what they are doing behind closed doors. When I learned about the Abu Ghraib and everything that accompanied that, it honestly just made me upset. We, as Americans, have so much criticism for other countries for the things that they do. But when something like this sheds in the light, we only make excuses for it and barely punish the people responsible for it. It just makes you have to wonder what is right and what is wrong in the world, because our government is saying one thing, but doing the other.

I really like your initial statement in this post. I think that, up until a certain point, we believe that we are members of a completely altruistic nation that would never engage in the inhumane practices we observed at Abu Ghraib. I think that a large part of this inherent belief comes from the instilled American Exceptionalism our society insistently subscribes to. I have often wondered how the ideal of American Exceptionalism interrelates with the theory of cognitive dissonance and what types of implications that renders. By believing that America is inherently altruistic and morally sound are we jading ourselves from accepting the existence of immoral practices? If society at large refuses to even acknowledge a problem, then implementing the necessary changes will be that much more difficult.

I completely agree and the Stanford prison experiment is a good example of the influence that power has. I think it's important to keep in mind that once people are convinced of something, they can do anything. The government has done a sufficient job of telling America who is the enemy and who is "out to get us". By using the technique of fear, they can accomplish many crimes with the excuse of "protection". I was surprised to watch the Abu Ghraib video and read the article, but after learning about Militarized Border Rape, it's not as hard for me to accept that the U.S. commits such terrible crimes.

I like that you brought up the intense amount of pressure that was on the shoulders of the US soldiers to interrogate and get information from the Afghan "war prisoners" at Abu Ghraib. However, I agree with what you said about how truly good people would not have tortured the Afghan civilians even with the pressure from their superiors. I think that when you are in that sort of position, becoming power hungry is something that may overcome you very easily. I believe that that is what the US "interrogators" did, and I would not condone such behavior.