I had a nightmare last night that a group of people that I didn't know and myself were rounded up by security forces, bound, placed in bare metal chairs side-by-side in a room, and tortured. Everything about the dream seemed vague. I didn't know who the others were, and didn't know who the security forces were. They must have been Iranian or belonged to some other tyranny. I don't remember what sort of torture was used. Possibly fists or whips. At any rate, my internal watchdog said, "I don't like this dream. This is unpleasant and must end now." So the dream ended and I woke up--early, as it turned out. That suited me because I've grown tired of being nocturnal and want to start waking up earlier.
I think the nightmare was a result of reading so many media stories about torture being used against protesters in Egypt, Syria, Iran, Libya, and other cesspools around the world. Before going to bed, I read an article about the torture and murder of a 15 year-old boy by Syrian security forces. Definitely not the sort of thing one should read prior to going to bed, but I suppose such articles are more interesting than the latest thing the Republicans have said.
There is something strange and scary about torture, about taking delight in another person's misery. Viewing the devices that were used in the Middle Ages, more elaborate than necessary, it is clear that human beings have a special fascination with it. One wonders how such a trait came into being and what possible purpose it serves. All civilizations have practiced torture, and only recently in human history have affluent societies abolished torture and registered their opposition to its practice, although the Bush administration did some backsliding on that issue. One can never expect Republicans to understand morality. The thinnest pretext is used to approve torture, because human beings have a powerful desire to commit such acts against their enemies.
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