Freedom and inaction

The beauty of academia is all the idealism, free-thinking. Wednesday night I went to an ACLU sponsored event on campus on how America is outsourcing torture to third-world countries on suspected terrorists. It was disturbing, particularly when you read the fact that the most amount of people killed in a terrorist attack were 3000 (9/11), which, while tragic, is a small number relative to the amount we are spending to prevent it. Do we really stop terrorism when we get information by torturing people? Are our acts of torture better than the torture enacted by our enemies because we believe we are morally superior and are we morally superior if we act in the same way our enemy does?

I suppose with everything that is going this week, Libby case, Iraq war timeline of pullout, my simmering outrage at this administration is refreshed anew. (ps I recently watched the Ghosts of Abu Gharib, sad story, interesting fact similar to the Libby situation, the brave whistleblower in that situation was suppose to be anonymous - Rumsfield outed him - while the guy was in Afghanistan and in grave danger, talk about vengeful - Rumsfield wasn't mad about the torture he was mad that this boy had said something, sick!).

What is wrong with our values, our ethics when we have unlimited money to torture people and yet we can't afford to provide all children in America with basic dental care....to the extent they are dying (read this very sad story about a Maryland kid who died because of an abcess in his tooth which lead to an infection in the brain and killed him).
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/03/AR2007030301032.html?sub=AR

I read this story and I want to scream and cry at the same time! Its all so frustrating....we voted in new people in Nov, they now act the same way the old guys did - what's the point? How can any change be affected, if we the richest country in the world, can't even get our act together?

How am I going to explain to God when I die that despite my anger over all of this - I was unable to move it? Does that not make me compliant? What can I do to stop the suffering of my fellow humans? How can I stop those whose souls have become corrupted by evil to rule us?

(another sad story that broke my heart - an Iraqi refugee living in limbo who wanted a normal life instead he is endless perscuted, another human suffering, I just want to enevelope this man in a hug and absorb his pain) - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/06/AR2007030602334.html?nav=hcmodulemmv