Thoughts on Jack Bauer and '24'
NPR ran a story this morning about the show '24'
The gist of the story was, what a cool show. We get to torture and kick arab butt!
I watched about 4 episodes of the show before I gagged. I realized I was talking back to the show even moreso than the network news when Big Dick or the Crawford Cretan were featured.
In the NPR story there is a quote (below) from good ole' Jack that supposedly justifies the whole wretched program.
This was my email to NPR.
This quote damns the entire story.
"you can look the other way once, and it's no big deal. Except it makes it easier for you to compromise the next time, and pretty soon that's all you're doing is compromising, because you think that's how things are done."
The entirety of this story IS a compromise of the Constitution and the rule of law.
Torture does not work. Torture is illegal both constitutionally and internationally by treaty. This character and show further the mistaken idea that torture does work.
It would not be so bad except for having seen U.S. Senators in various hearings making reference to the efficacy of FICTIONAL exploits of FICTIONAL characters as justification for moronic 'security' positions.
I enjoy mindless entertainment as much as anyone else, but it appears that the Neocon population think that the events on '24' are historic occurrences, and that Jack Bauer is real and probably more patriotic than George Washington and John Wayne. Oh, wait. Is George Washington real? I mean who would believe that 'Cherry Tree' stuff, anyway?
Clyde
The gist of the story was, what a cool show. We get to torture and kick arab butt!
I watched about 4 episodes of the show before I gagged. I realized I was talking back to the show even moreso than the network news when Big Dick or the Crawford Cretan were featured.
In the NPR story there is a quote (below) from good ole' Jack that supposedly justifies the whole wretched program.
This was my email to NPR.
This quote damns the entire story.
"you can look the other way once, and it's no big deal. Except it makes it easier for you to compromise the next time, and pretty soon that's all you're doing is compromising, because you think that's how things are done."
The entirety of this story IS a compromise of the Constitution and the rule of law.
Torture does not work. Torture is illegal both constitutionally and internationally by treaty. This character and show further the mistaken idea that torture does work.
It would not be so bad except for having seen U.S. Senators in various hearings making reference to the efficacy of FICTIONAL exploits of FICTIONAL characters as justification for moronic 'security' positions.
I enjoy mindless entertainment as much as anyone else, but it appears that the Neocon population think that the events on '24' are historic occurrences, and that Jack Bauer is real and probably more patriotic than George Washington and John Wayne. Oh, wait. Is George Washington real? I mean who would believe that 'Cherry Tree' stuff, anyway?
Clyde
posted by Clyde at 2:07 AM
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