-When I heard about this man, I was rather amazed by his determination to life and his character to not hold a grudge towards Americans. This is exactly why habeas corpus, the right to defend one self in front of a court, is so important. Some people think that closing Gitmo is a threat to national security, should just keep prisoners there for an indefinite amount of time, and think everyone in Gitmo is a terrorist, but the problem is that not everyone is a terrorist. Some were accidentally caught in the crossfire or simply wrongfully suspected as terrorists. Sweeping statements such as no habeas corpus for all prisoners is crude and a troubling idea. As I saw someone comment on YouTube:
We don't give people habeas corpus because they "deserve" it, we give them habeas corpus because it forces the accuser to make a full and compelling case against the accused. This idea that certain people are "bad enough" not to deserve habeas corpus misses the whole point of our system. If they're so bad, then you should be able to prove it in court.
-Slightly changing the subject, lets look at this issue from a psychological viewpoint of behaviorism, specifically the Skinnerian idea that the environment affects us-or nature vs. nurture. This would seem like a contradiction to nurture. It would make sense to me that prisons such as Gitmo, Bagram, and Abu Ghraib would infuriate the Arab community, but in this specific case, I believe America was fortunate to not make another enemy. But let's take a look at other current events. I believe the killer of Dr. George Tiller, Scott Roeder was a product of the environment- at least in part. One can be pro-life and not murder a pro-choice doctor. People react in different ways but I still believe that Roeder was a product of long term past events instilled as beliefs. The second example is the recent shooting of two military recruiters, killing one, by Carlos Bledsoe, also known as Abdul Hakim Mujahid Muhammad. This is one example of America's foreign policy having unintended consequences, turning a moderate Muslim into extremism, and a person becoming a product of the environment.
-People like the idea of free will, taking responsibilities for themselves. I'll have to admit, most people do think the environment is a factor to who we are, but my guess is that they under estimate the power of the environment. There are certainly exceptional people who seem to overcome their harsh circumstances, but the problem is that everyone thinks they're the exception when they're not. As a Christian, to think that American Christians are better because we're a free, moral people is completely flawed. We think Muslims are inferior because of their instable countries and terrorism, disregarding our actions overseas and the environmental obstacles they have to overcome. I would rebuttal by mentioning Scott Roeder. There was no immediate threat to his life or welfare, but he still murdered Dr. Tiller because of his beliefs. If you get to know people of different religion, especially in the U.S., they're very friendly. You may disagree with me and start rationalizing why Christians or Americans are great, but I think the problem is that it is unconscious in beliefs, but visible in the ideas and actions we support, and we're blind to it because it seems so rational.
-Another example include the recent Swine Flu craze, when people started scapegoating Mexicans, a product of fear in our circumstances, founded or not. To me, this is not too different from Nazi Germany in the 30's and 40's. One should keep in mind that Jews were not particularly liked in the U.S. as well as Germany, but with the combination of a worldwide depression and Hitler's leadership, they started scapegoating the Jews. Germans were not an insane country different from any other country, as it was evident in the lower ranks at the end of the war. Even our own soldiers noticed that Germans were decent people, and could have been friends under different circumstances. The truth is, we like to categorize people as good or evil, especially when it's other people, because it's easy and efficient-although not necessarily accurate, but when it happens to us, we make exceptions and rationalize. We make ourselves out to be complicated and diverse and therefore making our actions necessary or acceptable.
-My point is that we are ultimately equal as humans. It does not matter if we're Christian, American, Muslim, or any other group, we're vulnerable to how the environment manipulate us, whether in fear or rationality. I know that we believe everyone to be equal, but unconsciously treat others as unequal, such as nationalism- thinking America is the greatest country in the world or have the best military in the world. Ultimately, we need to feel unique which is fine, but we need to understand the consequences of being unique and not start dividing people. I believe that we are better off thinking others as equal and understand why as equals, we do the things that we do, instead of thinking people as inherently a certain way.
