Bonta says that Republican James F. Stewart of New Jersey answered

Bonta says that Republican James F. Stewart of New Jersey answered:

“The silly argument of national isolation, the outgrowth of fear and timidity, is lame and impotent….

Every nation must at all times be prepared to protect its citizens and interests abroad, and in order

to do this we must have mid-stations as bases of supply and resort, in order that our just resentment

against foreign nations may be sure and certain of management and control…. Gentlemen on the other

side, with tearful solicitude for our Constitution, and knowing our tender regard for that majestic

instrument, interpose it as a bar…. Our country has arisen from lusty youth to vigorous manhood. We

must share the responsibilities as well as the blessings of modern civilization. We must participate in

the world’s destiny.”

If the prohibition of torture is truly unjust, then is a little civil disobedience too much to ask for?

Where is our Thoreau with thumbscrews? Jim Henley questions the torture enthusiasts’ depth of

conviction:

Okay, here’s the scenario: Terrorists have planted a nuclear weapon in a major American city and if

you don’t stop it millions will die. If you have any sense of honor at all, wouldn’t you give your

own life to stop that? Most of us would say yes, wouldn’t we? What about prison? If you could save

them at the cost of spending years in prison, maybe even the rest of your life, wouldn’t you have to

make that choice? As bitter as the years might be, could you live with yourself knowing that you

allowed a nuclear holocaust just so you could live out your own days in comfort and freedom? Fair? No.

But what kind of man or woman worth the gametes that got them going could look someone in the eye and

say, “I could have prevented it, but I would have suffered.”

So if it’s ticking bombs that worry you, what do we need laws permitting torture for? Do the crime,

save the lives, then do the time. …