Getting an Opinion

Is it just me? Am I the only person outraged by the ongoing allegations that our government has been complicit in the torture of 'terror suspects' held in Guantanamo Bay? Surely I can't be the only citizen of this country deeply disturbed by claims that British intelligence officers were not only happy to use 'intelligence' obtained via torture, but were also quite happy to come up with the questions for the torturers to ask? I only ask because of the apparent lack of reaction to these revelations. Personally, I would have expected some kind of massive public backlash, with demonstrations demanding an end to the erosion of our civil rights. But no, not a thing. What does seem to elicit a passionate reaction from the great British public is the death of a minor celebrity famous only for having appeared on reality TV programmes. Don't get me wrong - I think that Jade Goody's untimely death from cancer was a tragedy, but unless you knew her personally, or were related to her, then this level of public grief is wholly inappropriate.

Perhaps the problem is that the public haven't yet been told what to think about the torture allegations by the media. Call me cynical if you like, but it does seem to me that most people are increasingly reliant upon the media for their opinions. After all, it was the tabloids who decided that Jade Goody's plight was a tragedy of national significance and that we should all be in mourning for her, (never mind that it was these self-same tabloids which had labelled her a 'pig', 'racist scum' and far worse in the past - they'd changed their minds, so we had to as well). Of course, part of the problem with the torture business is that the alleged victim is clearly a 'foreigner', despite being a UK resident, and a Muslim, leading to an implication in some coverage that he somehow 'deserved it'. Coupled to this an implication that under certain circumstances - specifically, to prevent terror attacks - torture is permissible. Frankly, I'm profoundly depressed by the fact that we are living in a society where such notions can even be entertained. No civilised society should even consider torture to be legitimate means of gaining intelligence. Nobody, regardless of race, creed or colour, should be subjected to such treatment. But again, as long as it was happening in some faraway place, that somehow absolves our rulers of any moral responsibility, let alone legal liability. At least, that's the way the media would seem to like you to see it.