Double Speak is Torturing Me

It has been popular probably since the first person set themselves above others as a leader, but in the last forty years or so, the use of double-speak has become an art form. Quite frankly, I'm sick of it. It contravenes just about every reason for communication, trust, and direct human relationship. Any time we enter a conversation where double-speak is being used, we're going to end up on the losing end of that relationship.

I read today of the Top Secret document that the ACLU has finally obtained that outlines the use of double-speak standards for torture overseas. The document is basically a directive to American interrogators on how to circumvent torture laws by placing the emphasis on how the torture is delivered to captives. In other words, if you injure with the intent to do physical harm, its not torture. I'm assuming that means that this injury is considered something other than torture. Either way, when the captive finally spills the beans, you have achieved the successful interrogation of the prisoner without torture no matter how badly bruised, beaten, and bloody your prisoner has become.

Double-speak. I didn't torture the prisoner because I meant to cause physical harm. Therefore its not torture by legal definition.

I've always thought that these kinds of word games were beneath Americans. In fact, these are the exact kind of arguments that I expect from Cold War Soviet Era doctrines, Nazi and other fascist regimes, and current strong arm dictators accused of genocide. "I am innocent of genocide because according to international law, I have every right to put down an insurrection in my own country and this group, (The Hutus, or whatever), was trying to start an insurrection, so I slaughtered every last one of them." But I see now that when push comes to shove, Americans can be every bit as brutally legalistic as every other thug nation on the planet.

Double-speak has got to go. We've got to remove it from our political halls and our law rooms and our hospitals and our schools and our every day language. We've got to stop using communication to obfuscate, distract, or otherwise trick each other into doing things that are against our better self-interest. And we've got to stop supporting laws and governments that allow for these kinds of mis-direction to occur.

The simple answer is: Let's let the interrogators turn their currently government sanctioned tactics on the politicians who authorized them to do these things and see if they can get these politicians to admit wrong doing. Don't worry. It won't be torture... not legally, anyway.