There are things that, if my
young self had heard of them, I would NEVER have assumed were references to my
country. Here are some:
The torture of prisoners of
war.
Organized torture of civilian
prisoners.
Police seizing the
possessions of citizens upon as punishment for common crimes.
Imprisonment for debts.
Statutes outlawing acts of
human kindness, such as feeding the poor.
Government kidnappings.
Wars of aggression without
provocation.
Internal assassinations of
political foes.
People toting guns at polling
places.
Laws against the teaching of
accepted truths.
Children imprisoned with
adults.
Prisons consisting of tents
in a desert surrounded by razor wire.
Near-starvation of prisoners.
Elevation of the views of one
religion to legal status.
Guns in churches.
Forcing a raped woman to bear
her rapist’s child.
Here are the countries, types
of countries, or regions that would have popped into my head if you’d quizzed
me:
The torture of prisoners of
war - Japan in WWII.
Organized torture of civilian
prisoners – the Soviet Union.
Police seizing the
possessions of citizens upon as punishment for common crimes – Latin America
Imprisonment for debts –
Anywhere, but long ago.
Statutes outlawing acts of
human kindness, such as feeding the poor – I honestly don’t think I could have
thought of any place that weird.
Government kidnappings –
Latin America.
Wars of aggression without
provocation – Germany in WWII.
Internal assassinations of
political foes – the Soviet Union.
People toting guns at polling
places – Africa or the Middle East.
Laws against the teaching of
accepted truths – Communist China and the Soviet Union.
Children imprisoned with
adults – a poor, third-world country.
Prisons consisting of tents
in a desert surrounded by razor wire – Africa or the Middle East.
Near-starvation of prisoners
– Dictatorships anywhere.
Elevation of the views of one
religion to legal status – Gosh, I guess anywhere outside of North America and
Western Europe.
Guns in churches –
Dictatorships.
Forcing a raped woman to bear
her rapist’s child – the Middle East.
It’s chilling to think how
rapidly and thoroughly citizens of the US have come to accept these things as
religiously acceptable and compatible with American values.
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