Letter

To the Editor:

There is a fine line between civilization and barbarism. We, as a country, have passed that line. I realize that I sound shrill stating this, but what else can one say when we have installed an Attorney General of the United States who will not condemn torture? I know that water boarding is torture. Every sane person knows that water boarding is torture. But the new Attorney General will not say that it is torture.

There can be only two explanations for this behavior, either one is disastrous. The first is that the man has trouble seeing what is real; that he lives in some alternative political universe where everything is negotiable and “up” can mean “down.” I am sorry, but we live in the real world. And in that real world, water boarding is torture. I do not want an Attorney General who is not anchored 100% in our Constitution. We’ve had enough of that already.

The second option is much more dangerous. That is, Mr. Mukasey pretends not to know that water boarding is torture because to admit that would leave the President of the United States open to criminal prosecution. Think about that for a while.

So, Citizens of the Eastern Shore, welcome to a country that has cast off one more vestige of civilization. Spend some time thinking how you will explain that we torture to your children. And think about what it feels like to drown.

Dr. C.