America? Is That You?

December 31, 2007

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Today, December 31st the New York Times had– in my opinion at least– printed one of the best editorial I have read in a very long time. “Looking at America” talks about the transformation of our countries identity over the past couple of years, going from prosperous and admired, to what we have become today, seemingly unrecognizable to many both foreign and domestic.

“There are too many moments these days when we cannot recognize our country. Sunday was one of them, as we read the account in The Times of how men in some of the most trusted posts in the nation plotted to cover up the torture of prisoners by Central Intelligence Agency interrogators by destroying videotapes of their sickening behavior. It was impossible to see the founding principles of the greatest democracy in the contempt these men and their bosses showed for the Constitution, the rule of law and human decency.”

The editorial then goes on to comment on the -for lack of a better term- ‘questionable’ techniques of those in the U.S. intelligence community; who were under direct orders from the White House. And the overall abuse of power George W. Bush and Dick Cheney routinely practiced, finally closing with a powerful message to Americans:

“The C.I.A. contracted out its inhumanity to nations with no respect for life or law, sending prisoners some of them innocents kidnapped on street corners and in airports to be tortured into making false confessions, or until it was clear they had nothing to say and so were let go without any apology or hope of redress. “These are not the only shocking abuses of President Bush’s two terms in office, made in the name of fighting terrorism. There is much more so much that the next president will have a full agenda simply discovering all the wrongs that have been done and then righting them.”

“We can only hope that this time, unlike 2004, American voters will have the wisdom to grant the awesome powers of the presidency to someone who has the integrity, principle and decency to use them honorably. Then when we look in the mirror as a nation, we will see, once again, the reflection of the United States of America.”