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While I haven't always agreed with US policies, on a fundamental level I have always been proud to be an American. Today I am embarrassed and ashamed. What have we become? Have we learned any lessons from history? Where do we get the audacity to take the moral high ground when approaching issues of human rights in Iraq and Afghanistan when we are no better? Are we so proud of "Operation Iraqi Freedom" that we can forget about basic human dignity?
The Red Cross has been filing complaints about the treatment of Iraqi soldiers for months. Our government has has photographic evidence for just as long. What were we doing about this before it became a media story? How did average soliders learn to become so cruel? And does our Secretary of Defense think his apologies are enough?
And, most important to me, is every American reading the stories/seeing the photos of abuse and reacting with outrage and horror?
These are people. Human beings. I can't even process what we've done.
Here is the most recent article from msnbc covering Rumsfeld's Apology and, for anyone interested, links to write to your Congressman and/or Senator. What's done is done but I think it's incredibly important that American citizens speak out against what happened to these prisoners. Everyone deserves basic human dignity.
EDIT: I'm editing to point out that there are a lot of interesting, valid, and differing opinions in the comments to my post.
The Red Cross has been filing complaints about the treatment of Iraqi soldiers for months. Our government has has photographic evidence for just as long. What were we doing about this before it became a media story? How did average soliders learn to become so cruel? And does our Secretary of Defense think his apologies are enough?
And, most important to me, is every American reading the stories/seeing the photos of abuse and reacting with outrage and horror?
These are people. Human beings. I can't even process what we've done.
Here is the most recent article from msnbc covering Rumsfeld's Apology and, for anyone interested, links to write to your Congressman and/or Senator. What's done is done but I think it's incredibly important that American citizens speak out against what happened to these prisoners. Everyone deserves basic human dignity.
EDIT: I'm editing to point out that there are a lot of interesting, valid, and differing opinions in the comments to my post.
