I want to explain something to you that I sincerely don’t believe you understand: we live in America. America affords people rights. Even people that do terrible, horrible things such as the acts that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab is accused of attempting.
Yes, Umar is accused of heinous crimes. Attempting to blow up a plane (on Christmas day, no less!) is a terrible, dispicable act. And he deserves to be tried for it. However, our courts have a provision that needs to be upheld no matter how bad the crimes are. The provision is simple and succint: all people are innocent until proven guilty.
That means that as we stand right now, Umar is innocent until a prosecutor proves him guilty. I think we all know he is guilty, but he has not been convicted and therefore is innocent in the eyes of the law. That means he is subject to the same civilian rights as any other person being tried for any other crime. That means he does deserve the right to a lawyer, no matter how badly you disagree.
Yes, we are at war, Mr. McCain. And we are at war with terrorists. And yes, if Umar is convicted that will make him a terrorist. However, we are also at war with drugs. Should we deny drug dealers their basic rights such as the right to a lawyer and the right to a civilian trial? No, because we aren’t really “at war” with drugs. Nor are we “at war” with terrorists. We are at war with Iraq and we are at war with the Taliban in Afghanistan. If we were truly at war with terrorists we would be bombing, Yemen, Pakistan, Nigeria, Libya, Somalia, Saudia Arabia, Iran, and Oman. But we aren’t, are we? Do you know why? Because it is not a real war.
And because it is not a technical war, we cannot use it to justify the withholding of civil rights. Not that a war should justify withholding civil rights anyway, but that is neither here nor there.
The fact is, Mr. McCain, Umar deserves the same rights as you and I because if we start to take away the rights of individuals, if we continue to justify torture, if we stoop down to that level than we have no right to claim terrorists are evil because we, ourselves, will have become the terrorists. That is their plan, Senator: if we torture, they use our torture to recruit others. If we deny rights, they use that denial to show how evil we are. Our actions are only furthering their agenda.
If we want to win, we must maintain the moral high ground. But more important than winning, we will have not sacrificed our ideals as a nation. Because without our ideals, what is there left to fight for?
mac
6 months ago
“If we want to win, we must maintain the moral high ground. But more important than winning, we will have not sacrificed our ideals as a nation. Because without our ideals, what is there left to fight for?”
Well, Lion. Lett me tell you one thing.
A truer thing could not be written. I have to agree with the whole piece actually. I think the same when I see our country detaining “suspects” without bail, some with no formal charges indefinately – all in the name of the war on terrorism.
Good job !
TheNateisCool
6 months ago
Wouldn’t the ultimate high road be giving the guy the same rights as he would have in Nigeria? (or wherever the devil he is from)
the lion
6 months ago
No, Nate, because Nigeria’s human rights leave something to be desired. He is being tried here and therefore we must give him the rights our courts afford all defendants.
TheNateisCool
6 months ago
It was just food for thought. If you were stuck in a foreign country wouldn’t you want the rights of an american prisoner?
Could it not be the same for this Nigerian? Perhaps he defends the Nigerian judical system and wants to be treated as a Nigerian.
mac
6 months ago
If arrested and charged with a serious crime in another country, one should expect to treated to the arresting country’s laws.
If one expects to not be held to another country’s laws and governance, one should not visit said other country.
the lion
6 months ago
Well, we often see Americans that are subjected for foreign law and courts when arrested and tried on foreign land, just as this Nigerian will be. It is how international law works and, since we offer particularly good rights to defendants, it is the moral way of doing things.
Uruk
6 months ago
Woohoo!
I’m sort of late getting around to reading this post you wrote, but you wrote a post and a half!
Well said. You made subtle, yet important points and articulated them quite well. What you said needs to be plastered everywhere or some sort of meme needs to be spread around to get people to see that we cannot take away people’s civil rights due to a sense of “urgency”.
I wonder sometimes if this is really what terrorists hoped for . . .
the lion
6 months ago
Uruk, I would be surprised if it wasn’t what their plan was. Terrorists, although we are loathe to admit it, are incredibly intelligent and understand the human condition very well. They are sneaky bastards, true, but no one could claim them dumb. They knew how we would react and we played right into their agenda.