End of the Year Rants
I suppose we had a false start in this millennium. In its relatively brief history, the United States has shown a tendency to take two steps forward, then one step back. We’ve stepped out in the wrong direction a lot lately.
It’s no coincidence that presidential candidates offering a clear change find themselves on the upswing in recent polls. Huckabee, Obama and McCain all differ from Bush stylistically, and seem ready to lead us in a totally new direction. Here are some disappointing trends that our country would do well to reverse.
Torture
If we engage in waterboarding to get information, what will stop our enemies from using even more gruesome tactics against Americans? Our country made the right decision to sign the Geneva Conventions. We should go back to following them.
The US should immediately discontinue the use of torture under all circumstances. Torture yields questionable intelligence, diminishes our moral standing in the world and unnecessarily endangers our soldiers.
Boot Camps
Young recruits attend real boot camps to prepare themselves for military combat in a foreign country. Chances are, juvenile delinquents already know about hand to hand fighting. These kids need job skills training and assistance in handling real world problems without resorting to violence.
Over the past few years, we’ve seen youngsters die at boot camp style facilities after getting beaten by guards. Vagrant teens don’t deserve the death penalty. We should abandon this flawed strategy.
Unsafe Toys
Factories in China make nearly all of our children’s toys these days, and we’ve given them a free reign. One would thing that the administration would welcome increased funding for toy safety inspections. But the Bush team has taken a “spare the lead rod, spoil the child” approach.
Torture, Boot Camps, Unsafe Toys
January 1st, 2008 at 12:25 pm
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