A little water never hurt anyone
October 27, 2007
Let's talk about torture.
Yes, I know it's not a subject for polite conversation. Maybe that's the point. Maybe it's a little too easy for us to look the other way instead of seeing it for what it is. So I want to make this easy, especially for Mr. Mukasey and those nice folks in Congress who are struggling with this very difficult principle of law.
I propose to show them exactly what we allow our own interrogators to do to prisoners of war, and to do so in the very halls of Congress. That may make it a little easier for them, because it will assure that they can keep their luncheon appointments and go home to their families that night. I wouldn't want to disrupt anyone's life with my own desire to clarify what Americans consider humane and what we consider torture.
I'm volunteering to place myself on a waterboard, and to submit to a demonstration of how it all works in the real world — in their real world.
I guess by now we've all seen the quaint drawings and diagrams of these devices of persuasion, but I've never been on one. Frankly, I don't relish the thought of it. I was very uncomfortable last spring when my doctor ordered me to lie on my back for an hour in an MRI chamber, so I can just imagine how uncomfortable I might be on a waterboard. I simply want to get to the end of this interminable argument about what constitutes torture, and I've come to believe there's only one way to do that.
If our esteemed members of Congress can sit and watch a man (me) endure waterboarding for just one hour, and then decide by a majority vote that it's definitely not torture, I'll be satisfied with their decision. I think most Americans would be satisfied with that.
But if they squirm and turn away, and profess shock or disgust? Well, I guess we'll have a more realistic basis for discussing the issue. I think it may be obvious what I believe, but what do my beliefs mean compared to those of my elected representatives? And isn't it my responsibility as an American to help provide them with the information they need to make a rational and informed decision?
So what do you say, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House and Senate? I challenge you to bear witness to the real thing, provided we can find a volunteer who's equally willing and qualified to operate the device. The show's on me!
Jeff Seager
Charleston, WV
October 27, 2007
