A Powerful Mind
On Sunday, I watched a show about prison guard vs prison inmate role play. The experiment was conducted in California during the 70's. Those students who were chosen to become prison guards transitioned from normal thinking students into power mongers with no regard for the feelings of the inmates.
They tied the story into the recent picutres of prison life in Iraq. It was the first time I saw the pictures which were snuck out and published. I couldn't believe my eyes...it was the way people had described it to me. The female guard (who I heard was from West Virginia) was smiling (thumbs' up and all) while standing in front of tortured inmates. Not only was she smiling, but she also had a satisfied look on her face, much like a person on spring break. Her family had made excuses "she was forced to pose like that". It makes me wonder how one can pose like that when forced to--smile with a twinkle in your eyes.
I know that the war was waged in an effort to stop terrorism. However to take prisoners and treat them inhumanely defeats the whole purpose of the battle. Having suffered due to the horrific events of 9/11, I don't feel that we should also inflict the same pain on our enemies. An eye for an eye is not the answer. Idealistically friendly negotiating will not work either. But to take prisoners and inflict such pain on them is heartless. To carry-on with such tactics is stoop to the terrorists levels. I believe that we are better than that. I do have faith that the American government was unaware of such senseless acts of violence. I'm hoping that it wasn't carried out acts of violence, but like in the experiments created by the psychology class, it was over zealous acts by soldiers with too much control and power.
No matter what, I do believe that all people are good at the core of their hearts. We just need to find a way to touch that core.
They tied the story into the recent picutres of prison life in Iraq. It was the first time I saw the pictures which were snuck out and published. I couldn't believe my eyes...it was the way people had described it to me. The female guard (who I heard was from West Virginia) was smiling (thumbs' up and all) while standing in front of tortured inmates. Not only was she smiling, but she also had a satisfied look on her face, much like a person on spring break. Her family had made excuses "she was forced to pose like that". It makes me wonder how one can pose like that when forced to--smile with a twinkle in your eyes.
I know that the war was waged in an effort to stop terrorism. However to take prisoners and treat them inhumanely defeats the whole purpose of the battle. Having suffered due to the horrific events of 9/11, I don't feel that we should also inflict the same pain on our enemies. An eye for an eye is not the answer. Idealistically friendly negotiating will not work either. But to take prisoners and inflict such pain on them is heartless. To carry-on with such tactics is stoop to the terrorists levels. I believe that we are better than that. I do have faith that the American government was unaware of such senseless acts of violence. I'm hoping that it wasn't carried out acts of violence, but like in the experiments created by the psychology class, it was over zealous acts by soldiers with too much control and power.
No matter what, I do believe that all people are good at the core of their hearts. We just need to find a way to touch that core.
posted by JM at
1:35 PM
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