Originally posted by Gregg
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It would certainly be a test of faith in the case of a child being kidnapped and buried, and I know what you mean about the sick feeling in your stomach. I believe that if there were an imminent threat to the life of my wife, daughter or son (as in a burglar with a knife to their throats) that I could use deadly force to protect them. So, maybe under extraordinary circumstances I could torture someone if it were absolutely necessary to save the life of a family member.
The really hard question, though, is what we want our government to do. Although there can be no society without the individuals who comprise it, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. We should expect our society's moral strength to be greater than our own. It reminds me of the question pundits used to ask politicians who were against the death penalty, what if it was your wife who was murdered? Sure, many of us personally would like to see the murderer drawn and quartered, but that still leaves room for the belief that the death penalty is not something our government should impose.
So, if I understood you correctly, we both have strong but mixed feelings on the issue. I don't know the answer to all the questions, but I know that I cringe every time our leaders condemn others for their human rights abuses and they throw back at us the torture issue. I share Senator McCain's fears that we have increased the danger to our troops in the field, as well.
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