Throughout my high school years, I was forced to read many different works of literature that our English teachers deemed to be classics.  While I have been an avid reader all my life, I’ll admit that I probably spent more time on sparknotes.com than I did reading the books that were assigned.  One of the few books I did take an interest in was 1984 by George Orwell.  My initial interest stemmed from the wonderful experience I enjoyed while reading Animal Farm, but I soon found myself immersed in the novel at hand.  While I can’t identify exactly what it was that kept my eyes glued to the pages, I have a hunch that it was the slight feeling of dread that I think everyone experiences when they read the book.  You start off fascinated by the world the fabricated world that Orwell has created, and you think to yourself that this is so far fetched that it could never conceivably happen to our world.  As you progress through the book, your mind begins to wander.  You start thinking of certain similarities between that totalitarian world and your own.  By the end of the book, you have this strange little anxiety that maybe this crazy society could really happen, given the right circumstances. 

The funny thing is, while we are steadfast in our belief that big brother will never be watching us, we forget that in parts of the world people are not afforded the same liberties that we are.  We have access to (relatively) unbiased, uncensored news.  We are able to express our opinions of desent without the government knocking on our door and threatening our well being.  We have a complete set of rights that are protected by a system that really is the best in the world.  To us, that Orwellian world seems impossible to comprehend.  In many countries around the world, things can be much like the events in the book.  Recently in Saudi Arabia, a blogger was investigated and imprisoned because of his dissenting view of the royal family’s politics.  The blogger, Fouad al-Farhan, was asked to sign an apology for his criticism.  This really hit home with me because I have written countless pieces criticizing the Bush administration.  What if I had been living in a country like Saudi Arabia?  I have always believed that change can only come about through criticism and response to criticism.  In these countries where the right to express opinions is not present, change cannot occur.  While that is obviously the goal of these regimes, it is not what is best for the people of that nation, nor the world as a whole.  In countries like Turkmenistan, dictators control the internet, television, and phone lines.  There is no escaping the all encompassing grip of the government. 

Perhaps before we rule out the possibility of Owell’s society coming to fruition, we should take a look at the state of the world in which we live in.  While it may not be a part of our lives as Americans, there are six billion other people on this planet, some of which live in societies that come much closer to those in the book.  While we don’t know what the future has in store, the best way to prevent it from happening to us is to be aware that the priciples of a totalitarian society are very much in place elsewhere in the world.

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Torture.  The word alone has an immediate negative connotation.  If you haven’t been living in a cave for the past month or two, chances are you have heard of the drama unfolding around the Bush administration’s policies on torture.  In case you aren’t aware of all this, it is now a fact that the CIA used such torture techniques as waterboarding and various other methods in an effort to extract information from captured militant.  The CIA then proceeded to destroy evidence of this practice and try desperately to save face.  To many, the issue of torture is simple.  NEVER.  Many Americans would say that we are too civilized a nation to condone such a barbaric act as that of torture.  While I would agree that torture is barbaric and that we should not make it a practice, I believe that he issue is much more complex. 

I tend to think that there is a time and a place for torture.  Why do I believe this?  Because in my mind, the pain and suffering of one person, and one with evil intentions at that, is insignificant in comparison to the pain and suffering of many.  I believe in the greatest good for the greatest number of people.  Now, before all of you out there condemn me and call me pro-torture (because we have to give a label to everyone in the American political realm), keep in mind that the only time I believe that torture should ever be employed is if it can save countless lives.  For instance, if a terrorist possesses information of an imminent attack on a major city.  All of you out there saying that torture should never be used, let’s pretend that the target city is YOUR city.  Suddenly, torture doesn’t sound like a bad idea right?  As long as it’s your life that is being saved, it’s alright. 

Don’t think that I don’t see the perils of authorized torture.  If you apply it to one situation, it is bound to become applied to another.  And another.  And another.  It will become more liberally applied to scenarios as time wears on, and that is scary.  Just as we can see the deterioration of rights under the Patriot Act, we can also see the deterioration of the most sacred human rights under a system that allows torture, even in select scenarios.  I also see the chance for mistakes.  Innocent men being tortured for information they do not even possess.  The only counterpoint to the fear created by these potential pitfalls is the notion that the rights of many are tantamount to the rights of one. 

When most of us think of torture, we think of iron maidens, the removal of finger and toe nails, or the stretching of limbs.  What we don’t realize is that these are all medieval torture techniques aimed at causing massive amounts of pain.  What is used now is a combination of light physical duress and heavily mental “torture”.  I found this list of approvd CIA torture techniques at ABCNews.com:

1. The Attention Grab: The interrogator forcefully grabs the shirt front of the prisoner and shakes him.

2. Attention Slap: An open-handed slap aimed at causing pain and triggering fear.

3. The Belly Slap: A hard open-handed slap to the stomach. The aim is to cause pain, but not internal injury. Doctors consulted advised against using a punch, which could cause lasting internal damage.

4. Long Time Standing: This technique is described as among the most effective. Prisoners are forced to stand, handcuffed and with their feet shackled to an eye bolt in the floor for more than 40 hours. Exhaustion and sleep deprivation are effective in yielding confessions.

5. The Cold Cell: The prisoner is left to stand naked in a cell kept near 50 degrees. Throughout the time in the cell the prisoner is doused with cold water.

6. Water Boarding: The prisoner is bound to an inclined board, feet raised and head slightly below the feet. Cellophane is wrapped over the prisoner’s face and water is poured over him. Unavoidably, the gag reflex kicks in and a terrifying fear of drowning leads to almost instant pleas to bring the treatment to a halt.

As you can see, they aren’t ripping out limbs or bringing these people near depth.  The worst of the techniques above appears to be the cold cell, in which a stubborn prisoner probably could lapse into hypothermia.  The waterboarding technique that is so widely talked about in the news, seems like it creates no danger or torture to the prisoner at all.  It makes them feel as if they are suffocating or about to die, but this a purely mental feeling experience of fear.  They think they are drowning, but they are in no danger.  Honestly, I don’t even know if that fits my definition of torture.  Scaring a terrorist like this seems no more threatening then pointing a gun at them and telling them you are going to kill them. 

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Life has a funny way of sneaking up on you.  Things you are passionate about one day have a strange habit of taking the back seat for other activities that come your way.  Basically, that is what has become of this blog.  While I often visit this page, I can never seem to find the time or desire to update it.  I know I have posted a few other notes about restarting the College Critic, but when tomorrow rolled around, I just couldn’t find the patience to spare the few minutes it takes write something thoughtful.  This morning, I was routinely checking my email when I happened upon a letter from a reader.  Now, this email took me by surprise, as I didn’t think I even HAD readers even when I was writing in full swing.  Anyway, the email was only two or three lines long, but full of encouraging words.  Finally, this person asked me why I had stopped updating the site.  When I started to think about that question, I began to think that maybe the limited time in my day was not the real reason I had been avoiding my blog.  After all, you make time for things you care about.  Perhaps I was disillusioned by the desire for an audience.  I think that somewhere along the line, I stopped caring about my intellectual analyzation of different topics, and placed more emphasis on what would create readership.  That was a mistake that I hope I can learn from.

Where is this post leading?  I didn’t really know when I started writing, to be honest.   I was trying to make a decision about whether to start writing again by getting all of my thoughts on paper (or the computer screen I suppose).  After thinking things through, I am ready to give this blog a try again.  I won’t make any promises that this desire and initiative will last, and I don’t expect that anybody would believe me if I did.  After all the prior posts, you can take my decision with a grain of salt.  Despite all of that, I’m going to give this comeback my best shot.  The College Critic is open for business once more. 

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