Opinion on Torture

Torture is a common tactic used to punish people, it aims to destroy and put down human dignity therefore it should be stopped at all cost. Although never justified, torture has been going on ever since civilization existed and continues to go on during this present day. Due to the brutality of torture it should be solely prohibited to keep this nation free from unjust practices. Dershowitz states "All the evils of torture would be multiplied... proclaiming loudly that we are against it but subtly winking an eye of approval when it is done" (198). What this is saying is that the act of torture and the use of it will increase if people act like it's not going on. By being willingly ignorant, we are saying that we support the atrocities of torture therefore delaying the proper actions to prohibit it. Torture has had its share all throughout this planet and its brutality has not only affected the guilty but also the innocent. The fact is that no living being deserves to be put under such excruciating pain and psychological stress, so every step must be taken to abolish such a practice.

A little over a hundred years ago slavery was a common practice that land owners participated in the U.S., and many slaves were either worked or tortured to death. Today slavery fortunately is only a dark memory of the past but the practice of torture still lives on and this should not be permitted to happen even in tight situation scenarios. "Ticking bomb scenarios are naïve, abstract fantasies that serve to assuage the moral conscience of perpetrators and collaborators" (Iacopino 194). What this is saying is that people try to justify torture but painting unlikely scenarios to explain why torture should be permitted and that is just an excuse for uncivilized behavior. No matter what event occurs in our life time torture should in no way affect the life of anyone on this planet and if we successfully ban this practice our world would be a much more safe and caring place.