HOME:  Durbin Diagram

Please keep this diagram in mind as you read the article on the WSJ slandering of Senator Durbin:

If I read this to you and did not tell you that it was an FBI agent describing what Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime--Pol Pot or others--that had no concern for human beings. Sadly, that is not the case. This was the action of Americans in the treatment of their prisoners. [End of Senator Durbin’s speaking.]

[Then the Wall Street Journal offers an opinion:] "We are fighting an enemy that murdered 3,000 innocent people on American soil 3 1/2 years ago and would murder millions more if given the chance--and according to Dick Durbin, our soldiers are the Nazis."

[End of Wall Street Journal article.]

Why the Wall Street Journal feels the need to bolster its false and irresponsible accusation against Senator Durbin is obvious, but, really, who disputes that the enemy would murder Americans if given the chance?

I am going to demonstrate, through logic, that, in fact, Senator Durbin is essentially correct in his assertion that those to whom he was speaking (I mean the American citizenry) would have been inclined to believe the treatment of prisoners he described would more likely have been committed by Nazis than by American agents.

We are Americans. What does that mean to you? Do we not consider ourselves better than the rest of the world? If we do, why is that?

A little national introspection might be useful.

Let us each examine ourselves.

Until very recently in American history, the citizens of our proud nation believed, correctly or incorrectly, that AMERICANS DON'T TORTURE. I mean no humor when I say that most citizens of our nation believed that, at worst, enemy detainees would be subjected to tickle torture or yelling or repetitive showing of bad movies, maybe.

I, among most American citizens, believed that, at first, enemy detainees would be just asked to give up information and, if they didn't, would be given nice meals, hot showers a clean bed and an opportunity to talk later. Surely we believed that, as a nation which has claimed to be- does claim to be- and will claim to be- blessed by the Creator of the universe, we would treat enemy detainees with the respect they didn't otherwise deserve just because they had been created in the image of that Creator.

This is, after all, the reason we treat others as we wish to be treated; the Creator imbued humanity with dignity.

What DID we believe would happen to enemy detainees whom we believed to be holding information that was useful to us? In all seriousness, I think that we truly believed that they would be incarcerated, questioned and maybe lied to thusly: Your comrades forsake you; your nation has been nuked; the war is over but we're keeping you until you relent. Anyway, I think that few of us ever thought that our nation- the champions of righteousness (I mean that sincerely, if relative to much of the rest of the world) would actually actively allow a human being, no matter how despicable, to lie in their own feces, literally tearing their hair out, risking permanent damage to ears and mind.

Conversely we believe that there is NOTHING a Nazi would not have done to get information from a detainee: From fawning politeness, providing nice meals, hot showers and a warm bed to taking out a detainee’s fingernails with a pliers or hacking off any body part and threatening to allow a detainee to bleed to death. In short, the Nazi, being one of the foci of evil in the world, would, we expect, do anything, whether "good" or "evil" to extract information from their detainees.

So, then, how do we, as Americans, differ from those Nazis? That is the question Senator Durbin challenges us to answer; the contrast. If you shrink from the challenge it is likely hubris or fear that motivates you. Well I challenge you to stand up and be a man (or woman) and answer the question.

Consider a logic device if you will. Get a sheet of paper and a pencil and draw a circle on the paper. Inside of this circle consider to be ALL of the things that you once believed AMERICANS would do to extract information from a detainee.

Consider the WORST treatment that you would have expected Americans to inflict on a detainee BEFORE you heard of Guantanamo Bay as a detention facility (and, probably, Abu Grahib).

Then draw a BIGGER circle on the paper, which surrounds the first circle. Consider to be inside the BIGGER circle everything a Nazi would do to get information from one of their detainees. As I mentioned, we believe(d) that the Nazis would do literally anything, and, therefore, logic dictates that your American Circle must fall within your Nazi Circle.

Anything that falls inside of the Nazi’s circle, but outside of the American circle, is something that you believe is too severe or too evil for Americans to do.

There are some things in your Nazi circle that aren’t inside your American circle aren’t there? Well aren’t there?

 If not, you’re comparing Americans with Nazis and seeing no difference in this regard.

Ask yourself this question: Before we learned of the behavior that Senator Durbin described as taking place with regard to American detainees, what would have been the worst thing that you would have put into the American circle? What is the worst thing that you would put in there now that you know of these things? If they're different, then America has crossed your line.

Another question that arises, therefore, is how far across your line have we gone? And another question; how far will we continue to go? Will we go as far as those Nazis?

Have we gone so far that you would have believed that the actions that Senator Durbin described would not have been done by Americans? If so, since we know Nazis would do anything, you agree with what Senator Durbin said. Those who believe that we should torture detainees, and use any method to extract information from them that we wish, have broken down the wall of that inner circle and they do not look at those detainees as having been created in the image of God, but see something less than human, as did Nazis. And correct me if I am wrong (because I hate being wrong) our nation is less for it. [Possibly we are no longer the great, kind leader of a nation which Senator Durbin calls us?]

If we truly believe that our nation is blessed by God, and we want it to be blessed more, we need to re-think the way we treat human beings, even if they don't "deserve" that consideration. In fact, there is a bit of scripture that I BELIEVE is relevant to our nation, which, were we to truly implement, would save us from even having to consider torture.

I will admit this, however, if Senator Durbin was not referring to considerate, decent American citizens as "you" when he said, "…you would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis..." but was, in fact, referring to some at the Wall Street Journal and/or opportunistic talking heads, and/or disingenuous talk radio head-hunter hosts, well, then, he was wrong because they already believed that American agents did what Nazis do; they compared Americans to Nazis by disagreeing with Senator Durbin.

So who actually believes that American agents should conduct themselves better than Nazis?

Who believed they did?

Who believes they do?

I do not know what was in Senator Durbin’s heart when he said what he said.

We cannot know what somebody means, we can only know what they say.

I think what he said was correct for most Americans and for all Americans who want America to be even better today than it was yesterday, or to at least be as good, today, as it was yesterday.

All of the political opportunists who intentionally slammed Senator Durbin just because they could should probably apologize to him. They probably should apologize to the American soldiers whom the Wall Street Journal wrongly accuses Senator Durbin of comparing to Nazis.

And sure as rain falls down we should have a national debate on just what kind of country THE PEOPLE wish to have.