The right wing never fails to amaze me in the depths of their hypocrisy. This is the same group who voice support of prayer in schools and religious symbols in public places, and ride in on a high horse on the abortion issue. Yet, at the same time, they fervently support legalized violence against their fellow man. They have no qualms with the death penalty; they will start a war at the drop of a hat, and have most recently come to the conclusion that torture is morally acceptable.
I have to assume the Religious Right, or the Moral Majority, support torture because I don’t hear anything from their leaders that say otherwise. Where are the priests? The Pope? Where are Rick Warren, Jerry Falwell, James Dobson, Pat Robertson and all the other religious icons of the right? Their silence is deafening. In fact, their silence is more that that. Their silence is tantamount to approval.
Assuming that someday one of these religiously learned men might choose to address the issue of torture, I wonder what they would say:
- Do they consider crucifixion a stress position?
- Will they answer why Christians kneel before an instrument of torture?
- If Christ had been water-boarded would he have risen from the dead 183 times?
- If Judas readily gave Christ to the Romans for a few pieces of silver, but Christ refused to break under the strains of his crucifixion, does that mean torture doesn’t work?
- Was Christ tortured, or did he merely undergo an early form of "harsh interrogation"?
Ask yourselves. Why do Christians kneel before an instrument of torture? Do they think crucifixion is cool, or are they worshipping the victim of torture? Is Christ worshipped and adored solely because he died for our sins, or has His memory endured the test of time due to the torturous manner in which He died? Would we still remember Christ in our prayers if the Romans had simply tossed him off the edge of a high cliff rather than torturing him to death? In other words, are torture victims remembered differently than others? Does their torture and memory give strength to a cause? It seems to have worked for Jesus. The question is, will the torture of the detainees have the same impact on the Muslim extremists? Let’s hope not, but go figure the odds.
Would anyone agree that the country is waiting for these characters to speak up? Is torture not a moral issue? The pols will never put a stop to this debate because it clearly benefits both sides. But we are talking about something far more serious than politics, we are talking about the moral compass of this country. After eight years of supporting a president who practically made our democracy into a theocracy I think religious leaders have an obligation to weigh in on this issue, and to do it now.