In Case You Forgot: Trump Endorses Torture | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Community

In Case You Forgot: Trump Endorses Torture

You heard me, although you're probably not surprised.

8
In Case You Forgot: Trump Endorses Torture
Photo by Jose M. on Unsplash

The United States prides itself as a progressive country of equality and diversity. That said, the current leadership has reflected otherwise.

With elections just around the corner, I have felt the need to voice my opinions everywhere I can. However, there are constant reminders of Donald Trump's bullshit all over social media. You've probably heard it all, so this time I'm taking another approach - I'm unpacking baggage from before he was elected. I recently stumbled upon something he said in 2015 and was immediately inclined to shed light on the issue.

Trump endorses torture.

This is the kind of person he is. Waterboarding is a highly disputed torture technique used to extract information from adversaries, and Trump said that he wants to bring it back because "it works," adding that "… if it doesn't work, they deserve it anyway for what they do to us." (from The Guardian)

His disturbing rhetoric about the inhumane treatment endorses the violation of countless human rights and demonstrates profound hypocrisy for America. Waterboarding explicitly transgresses the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and its implementation would contradict the standard that the U.S. holds others to. Also, side note: no, Donald Trump, it doesn't work.

America and the United Nations are closely intertwined, holding the U.S. to the standards set forth by the UDHR. As a global power, America's actions are critically analyzed. Contravening the unalienable rights that the U.S. claims to endorse only establishes precedent for other countries to adopt. Article 5 of the UDHR states, "no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment." Prisoners experience a drowning sensation, causing them both extreme physical and mental distress. The utilization of waterboarding would be a gravely explicit breach of conduct. Similarly, article 6 states, "everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law." Just because individuals seemingly "deserve" it, doesn't diminish their inherent right to due process. By virtue of being human, no rights are worthy of exclusion, no matter how badly Trump lets his revengeful emotions cloud any ounce of judgement he might have.

Incorporating waterboarding as a technique of information gathering would be indicative of significant hypocrisy on behalf of America. After World War II, the U.S. executed six Japanese Generals because they had tortured American war prisoners with methods including waterboarding. Donald Trump's ideology of fighting fire with fire must be a two way street for it to even remotely pass as justified.

If we advocate for a process that we then condemn others for using, we are holding ourselves to a separate, unfair standard.

A report released by the Senate claims that upon 9/11 investigations in 2002, al-Qaeda member, Abu Zubaydah, was waterboarded 83 times, leading to coughing, vomiting, and "involuntary spasms of the torso and extremities."

And get this - he still gave them NO information. Nothing.

The psychological torture involved in the method is too disruptive to extract trustworthy information from the inflicted. The reason I mention all of this is that I believe it speaks to the type of person that Donald Trump is. As we enter the 2020 elections, I can only hope that voters prioritize morality. It's one thing to support an individual based off of perceived self benefit, but it's another thing to place that over humanity. We cannot endorse a man that embodies such cruelty. Selfishness cannot win again.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Gilmore Girls
Hypable

In honor of Mother’s Day, I have been thinking of all the things my mom does for my family and me. Although I couldn’t write nearly all of them, here are a few things that moms do for us.

They find that shirt that’s right in front of you, but just you can’t seem to find.

Keep Reading...Show less
Relationships

10 Reasons To Thank Your Best Friend

Take the time to thank that one friend in your life you will never let go of.

1558
Thank You on wooden blocks

1. Thank you for being the one I can always count on to be honest.

A true friend will tell you if the shirt is ugly, or at least ask to borrow it and "accidentally" burn it.

2. Thank you for accepting me for who I am.

A best friend will love you regardless of the stale french fries you left on the floor of your car, or when you had lice in 8th grade and no one wanted to talk to you.

Keep Reading...Show less
sick student
StableDiffusion

Everybody gets sick once in a while, but getting sick while in college is the absolute worst. You're away from home and your mom who can take care of you and all you really want to do is just be in your own bed. You feel like you will have never-ending classwork to catch up on if you miss class, so you end up going sick and then it just takes longer to get better. Being sick in college is really tough and definitely not a fun experience. Here are the 15 stages that everyone ends up going through when they are sick at college.

Keep Reading...Show less
kid
Janko Ferlic
Do as I say, not as I do.

Your eyes widen in horror as you stare at your phone. Beads of sweat begin to saturate your palm as your fingers tremble in fear. The illuminated screen reads, "Missed Call: Mom."

Growing up with strict parents, you learn that a few things go unsaid. Manners are everything. Never talk back. Do as you're told without question. Most importantly, you develop a system and catch on to these quirks that strict parents have so that you can play their game and do what you want.

Keep Reading...Show less
friends
tv.com

"Friends" maybe didn’t have everything right or realistic all the time, but they did have enough episodes to create countless reaction GIFs and enough awesomeness to create, well, the legacy they did. Something else that is timeless, a little rough, but memorable? Living away from the comforts of home. Whether you have an apartment, a dorm, your first house, or some sort of residence that is not the house you grew up in, I’m sure you can relate to most of these!

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments