Amnesty International's "Unsubscribe" Campaign: Voluntary Torture
I haven't renewed my Amnesty International membership yet this year and now I have a reason to worry instead of just a nagging feeling of guilt. The group, recipient of the 1977 Nobel Peace Prize, has filmed spots where actors/performance artists are tortured to show what our governments are doing to interrogate some prisoners. There is a very disturbing spot up now where an artist is willingly put into stress positions over a six-hour period. There will be another spot released to cinemas on May 12 that shows a voluntary participant being briefly subjected to waterboarding.
As much as I hate terrorism (and performance art for that matter), I find the even mildly routine use of these methods incompatible with American ideals. We were told Abu Ghraib was just an anomaly and we have let many transgressions slide, but we need to make a real change with this election. There's a point where we have to stop worrying about our TVs, cell phones, and Gamerscores long enough to make sure we are doing at least something to make the world a more humane place.