Torture isn’t patriotic

I disagree with Catherine Humberg’s Jan. 2 letter saying that if we are against torture, we are unpatriotic. Untrue. I was born over 60 years ago, and in all that time the United States has been against the use of torture. Where did Humberg get the idea that the U.S. tortures?

Torture is unproductive because you can’t trust your information. If we torture, we can’t demand that others not torture our service members. I don’t care if you say the people who died on 9/11 were tortured. The U.S. is above that kind of tit-for-tat barbarism.

Torture is un-American. If you grew up under the George W. Bush/Dick Cheney administration, maybe you have a warped idea of what America is really all about. Today was the first time I have read an American defend torture as being patriotic.

Humberg says torture has been used by the U.S. in the past. I beg to differ with you. When waterboarding was used in World War II, the users were prosecuted.

I still believe in the moral America, the U.S. that believes we are civilized and that, while we have never been perfect, we can strive for that goal.

Deborah Hale

Spokane