Torture

My old friend Bob sent me a link to this Esquire article which is a travelogue of sorts written by a soon to be new father who participated in torture as a representative of our government. I had read the article a few weeks back, flying home from Tucson, and was really...really impacted by it. I remember not being sure if I wanted to keep reading at the jump, or whether I should just go back and re-read the bad joke section.

Anyway, I did finish it, and then Bob sent it along today as part of an ongoing, group discussion that I would loosely describe as a friendly debate amongst a group of people who can't believe we are where we are.

I was sending a note back to Bob and the group about the article and I wrote something to the effect of, "We're all victims of torture when it's done in our name..." I'd have to go back and see exactly what I said, but it wasn't something I thought about or considered. It just came out, which is sometimes how truth is revealed. Patty calls it the "cuclunk sound of insight." Some might describe it as epiphany, but it didn't feel enlightening. Just depressing.