As many of you already know, On April 27, 2014 Sarah Palin, former Governor of Alaska and Republican Vice Presidential nominee in 2008, spoke at the annual National Rifle Association conference in Indianapolis. Although over 45.6% of Americans voted to place Ms. Palin a heartbeat away from the presidency in 2008, the tea party hero has shifted further and further to the right of the political spectrum in recent years.(I) If you haven’t read or listened to what Ms. Palin said, I urge you to do a quick YouTube search. For those that wish to spare themselves the nausea of hearing these vitriolic comments, I will briefly summarize. Ms. Palin implied that if she ran the country, she would not be afraid to torture suspected terrorists. Ms. Palin raised her voice over the cheering of the crowd, "Well, if I were in charge, they [terrorists] would know that waterboarding is how we baptize terrorists."(II) You might be wondering why Ms. Palin’s comments matter when, years after an interview with Katie Couric where Ms. Palin was unable to name a single newspaper or magazine that she read, Ms. Palin seems as out of touch as ever.(III) Normally I would laugh at these comments, and continue to read about other absurdities (like the Cliven Bundy episode) that have become part of American political news in the recent weeks. In fact, like millions of Americans I almost did write off Ms. Palin’s comments without giving them much thought.
However, Ms. Palin’s comments came one day before I had the incredible opportunity to interview a Tibetan woman named Ama Adhe who spent 27 years of her life in a Chinese prison. What shocked me was not simply her story of being one of only a handful of Tibetan women out of 300 to survive, nor was it the cause that she attributed to their deaths, torture and starvation; Ama Adhe related to me how in desperation the women turned to eating their shoes for sustenance. More surprising was that despite years of America neglecting to truly aid Tibetans in their struggle for self-determination and basic human rights, Ama Adhe still has supreme faith that the United States will meaningfully assist her people in their struggle. I decided not to tell her about Sarah Palin.
The fact is, Ms. Palin’s comments matter and not just because of how close she was to becoming a leader of our country. Ms. Palin’s comments matter because they undermine American foreign policy. Though waterboarding might just be a topic of discussion to Ms. Palin, the Tibet Centre for Human Rights and Democracy has released an annual report, which states “Tibetans continue to be tortured, arrested without reason, and sent to detention centers without due process.”(IV) Leaving aside for a moment the noxious imagery of a Christian woman “baptizing” jihadists with torture, lets speak about international customs and statutes. According to Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment…The term ‘torture’ means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such a purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession.”(V) Not only was the United States instrumental in creating the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights, and should therefore follow it, the right to not be tortured “is considered an international customary norm and thus is binding on all states.”(VI) Whether or not Ms. Palin is aware of international norms or the concept of basic morality does not excuse her remarks.
In an age where America maintains its hegemonic status over Russia and China in part because of its greater respect for human rights, Ms. Palin’s disregard for a sensible moral code and more importantly the response she received from the NRA audience is shocking.(VII) Ms. Palin’s comments embarrass the United States in a time when Obama aims to present a united front against Russian aggression and Chinese influence. Although, Ms. Palin’s lack of political power offers many Americans comfort, the audience’s reactions to her comments should make us quite uncomfortable. Although Ms. Palin has become a fringe character in American politics, the NRA boasts a membership of more than 5 million Americans, annual revenue of $205 million, and an unquantifiable influence on the American political system.(VIII, IX) Just this month the NRA helped to pass comprehensive pro-gun legislation (House Bill 60) in my home state, Georgia. Anyone interested in the specific details of the law should check out the NRA’s article thanking their members and explaining the legislation.(X) The NRA has historically been one of the most influential lobbying powers in America and is widely considered one of the most influential groups in Washington.(XI)
Interestingly, the NRA also touts a strong bond with the armed forces. In reality, NRA members, at least the ones who cheered Ms. Palin’s comments, do not support our troops and cannot be considered patriots. Not only has information garnered from torture been deemed unreliable from numerous sources, a fact that Ms. Palin nor NRA members seem to care about, but Human Rights First, working with a non-partisan group of retired Generals and Admirals, supported Obama in his Executive Order to end the Bush era torture techniques.(XII, XIII) Out of respect for the servicemen Ms. Palin supposedly cares so much about, it would be nice if she deferred to their opinions (or at least the opinion of John McCain, her former running mate) on this issue. After all these people have far more knowledge than the former Miss Alaska contestant about both torture and intelligence gathering.
My intent with this piece was not to slam Ms. Palin, a publicity seeker who deserves neither our ire nor attention. Neither was it to critique the NRA and their gun rights agenda; this issue transcends the 2nd Amendment. The intent of this piece was to remind readers of the importance of Ms. Palin’s comments both at home and abroad. I urge readers to think of people like Ama Adhe who look to America as a country with both military and economic power but also strong moral values. Even if you do not care about Ama Adhe and the torture she endured for nearly three decades, take a moment to think about what these comments mean for creating a world free of unnecessary suffering. China still correctly regards the Tibet issue as a stain on its international record and we should aim to keep it that way. These remarks given by an American politician and supported by an arena of Americans allow Chinese officials to accuse America of hypocrisy and continue their brutal tactics. I highly doubt that a plea to Sarah Palin to stop speaking of a subject she has no experience with, in an era where people all over the world continue to be tortured, will have any effect.
Therefore, I urge all Americans, specifically members of the NRA not to tolerate this kind of violent rhetoric. If you care about the 2nd Amendment, I encourage you to lobby your local politicians, as is your democratic right, but stop supporting an organization that celebrates torture, disregards morality, and causes harm to America’s international agenda and human beings everywhere. If you feel that you just cannot turn in your NRA membership, please lobby the NRA not to allow such harmful speakers at your conventions. An NRA that says no to torture, backs American troops, does not endanger American foreign policy objectives, and supports basic human rights for people everywhere is a stronger NRA.
Works Cited:
I. Leip, David. "2008 Presidential General Election Results." David Leip. Last modified 2012. uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/national.php?year=2008.
II. MacNeal, Caitlin. "Palin: 'Waterboarding Is How We Baptize Terrorists' (VIDEO)." Talking Points Memo. Last modified April 27, 2014. http://talkingpointsmemo.com/....
III. Jamieson, Alastair. "US vice-presidential debate: Sarah Palin fails to name a single newspaper - Telegraph." Telegraph.co.uk. Last modified October 1, 2008. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/....
IV. Tibet Centre for Human Rights and Democracy. "2013 Annual Report: Human Rights Situation in Tibet." Scribd - Read Unlimited Books. Accessed April 30, 2014. http://www.scribd.com/....
V. Ibid
VI. Ibid
VII. International Human Rights Rank Indicator. "Countries." Accessed April 30, 2014. http://ihrri.com/....
VIII. Korte, Gregory. "Post-Newtown, NRA membership surges to 5 million." USA TODAY: Latest World and US News - USATODAY.com. Last modified May 14, 2013. http://www.usatoday.com/....
IX. Statistic Brain | Numbers | Percentages | Financials | Rankings | Statistic Brain. "National Rifle Association (NRA) Statistics | Statistic Brain." Last modified March 12, 2014. http://www.statisticbrain.com/....
X. NRA-ILA | ILA Home. "NRA-ILA | Georgia Governor Signs Comprehensive Pro Gun Bill into Law." Last modified April 23, 2014. http://www.nraila.org/....
XI. archive.today - webpage capture. "FORTUNE Releases Annual Survey of Most Powerful Lobbying Organizations." Last modified November 15, 1999. http://archive.today/....
XII. Washingtons Blog. "Top Interrogation Experts Agree: Torture Doesn't Work → Washingtons Blog." Last modified April 23, 2009. http://georgewashington2.blogspot.in/....
XIII. Human Rights First. "Retired Military Leaders Against Torture." Accessed April 30, 2014. http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/....
