Torture
Ellie Jackson
March 7, 2008
Torture
The woman was drinking her morning coffee when the doorbell rang. She opened the door to a tall man in uniform who asked, "Are you Mrs. John Torpey?" Over the next few moments the soldier explained that her husband was missing in action. He caught her when she fainted. Meanwhile in Iran in a dark, stuffy cave, John Torpey stood against a cold rock wall with his hands tied above his head and a black sack covering his face. His shoes were missing and the bones of his right foot protruded through his skin, he was a victim of torture. Torture is defined as infliction of severe physical or mental pain, agony and anguish; it can affect the mind or the body. From the beginning of time torture has affected mankind. Treaties have been certified to protect us from the horrific circumstances torture brings us; but even the United States is guilty of the malicious actions. Ultimately, Torture is a heinous, revolting invasion of another human being and leaves them in physical and psychological pain certainly shouldn’t be perpetrated on anyone.
To understand torture, you may need to identify with the culprit. It’s a horrifying thought that some perpetrators agonize for pleasure. During World War II, many of these acts were frequently committed. Prisoners of War would be severely beaten and tortured over a period of weeks, months, and even years. In the poem, Remembering Hiroshima- lines on the fiftieth anniversary, Tom McGowan relates:
"But the destruction of the body is nothing.
The ritual is spiritual. They do it for the pain;
And, yet, better, for the agony
And for the ecstasy the agony gives them.
Oh, how they love their cruelty,"
Torture serves as a drug. The more the miscreant inflicts pain, the better they feel. It becomes an addictive compulsion in which satisfies a craving to hurt another. If this was allowable, it would create a...
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