Let's propose something radical: let's refuse to "debate" torture with the apologists. No, I do not mean that we cede any ground, not whatsoever. What I mean is let's stop taking the apologists at face value, stop discussing torture as an issue which deserves debate, stop letting them frame the "debate". We've wasted too much time, and too many words, vainly attempting to convince the morally bankrupt that torture is ineffective, that the ticking time bomb scenario is nothing more than a pretext for sadism, and even that torture is actually torture.
Why have we allowed this "debate" to continue?
There is no debate. There can be no debate. Torture is wrong, legally, ethically, morally wrong. Period.
Instead of debating, we must testify to the undeniable truth concerning torture. It's not about them, it's about us, it's about who we are and who we will allow ourselves to be.
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