Original Yad Vashem Memorial (h/t BevosAngryGhost)

I wrote on Tuesday that Obama’s speechwriter had a helluva job trying to write a speech for President Obama to give at the Holocaust Remembrance ceremony, given all the news about official US government torture that has been emerging. I watched the speech (transcript), and it was actually pretty good — if you could put Gitmo and Abu Ghraib out of your mind.

If not, well . . . let’s just say that it was filled with a host of unintended parallels. For instance,

It is the grimmest of ironies that one of the most savage, barbaric acts of evil in history began in one of the most modernized societies of its time, where so many markers of human progress became tools of human depravity: science that can heal used to kill; education that can enlighten used to rationalize away basic moral impulses; the bureaucracy that sustains modern life used as the machinery of mass death — a ruthless, chillingly efficient system where many were responsible for the killing, but few got actual blood on their hands.

Substitute "torture" for "kill" and Obama could have been talking about the Bush administration policies and practices for CIA and DOD interrogations. Addington, Cheney, Gonzales, Yoo, Bybee, Bradbury, Hayden, Rumsfeld, Rizzo, and others created a "ruthless, chillingly efficient system" of their own.

  • Science developed to heal brokenness was twisted into a weapon to break people by folks like James Mitchell and Steven Bradbury.
  • Education used to build up the rule of law was twisted to make a mockery of it by the well-educated DOJ and WH lawyers like Addington, Gonzales, Yoo, and Bybee.
  • Bureaucracy created to carry out the cause of justice was twisted to destroy it.

Sigh.

Back to the speech . . .

While the uniqueness of the Holocaust in scope and in method is truly astounding, the Holocaust was driven by many of the same forces that have fueled atrocities throughout history: the scapegoating that leads to hatred and blinds us to our common humanity; the justifications that replace conscience and allow cruelty to spread; the willingness of those who are neither perpetrators nor victims to accept the assigned role of bystander, believing the lie that good people are ever powerless or alone, the fiction that we do not have a choice.

Hmmm . . . "justifications that replace conscience"? Why do the letters O-L-C come to mind? Powerless bystanders? I can hear them now: "I didn’t pour the water, so it’s not my fault. I had an order, so I had to follow it. . ."

And then Obama spoke about about numbers. Not just 6 million dead, but 7200 who escaped through Denmark, another 5000 who were protected in Le Chambon, France. (Funny, no mention of 183.) Speaking of those French villagers, Obama said

They remind us that no one is born a savior or a murderer — these are choices we each have the power to make. They teach us that no one can make us into bystanders without our consent, and that we are never truly alone.

Choices. No one can make us into bystanders. Unless, apparently, someone tells you that the OLC says it’s OK to torture as long as its in a good cause and the boss said to do it.

How do we ensure that "never again" isn’t an empty slogan, or merely an aspiration, but also a call to action?

I believe we start by doing what we are doing today — by bearing witness, by fighting the silence that is evil’s greatest co-conspirator.

In the face of horrors that defy comprehension, the impulse to silence is understandable.

Saying "I changed the policy, so let’s not look at those pesky old memos, or try to hold anyone accountable" seems to have been the Obama reaction to the torture practices of the Bush Administration. Silence appears to be so much simpler.

President Obama, if you really mean "never again" should not be an empty slogan, then we need some witness-bearing against the torture, some accountability for those who devised and implemented it as official policy, and some measure of justice for those caught in its teeth. If only we had a model for that.

Oh wait — we do:

The story goes that when the Americans marched in, they discovered the starving survivors and the piles of dead bodies. And General Eisenhower made a decision. He ordered Germans from the nearby town to tour the camp, so they could see what had been done in their name. And he ordered American troops to tour the camp, so they could see the evil they were fighting against. Then he invited congressmen and journalists to bear witness. And he ordered that photographs and films be made. Some of us have seen those same images, whether in the Holocaust Museum or when I visited Yad Vashem, and they never leave you. Eisenhower said that he wanted "to be in a position to give firsthand evidence of these things, if ever, in the future, there develops a tendency to charge these allegations merely to propaganda."

In marked contrast to Obama’s remarks on Gitmo interrogations earlier this week, Ike said in essence, "Worries about polarization be damned. Here’s the evidence of what happened. If you think this is invented, if you think this is merely political spin, if you think this is made up for partisan advantage, let’s look at the evidence."

Sigh.

Again, back to the speech:

But we must also remember that bearing witness is not the end of our obligation — it’s just the beginning. . . .

Today, and every day, we have an opportunity, as well as an obligation, to confront these scourges. . . . [W]e have the opportunity to make a habit of empathy; to recognize ourselves in each other; to commit ourselves to resisting injustice and intolerance and indifference in whatever forms they may take — whether confronting those who tell lies about history, or doing everything we can to prevent and end atrocities like those that took place in Rwanda, those taking place in Darfur. That is my commitment as President. I hope that is yours, as well.

Oh, it’s mine. That’s why I’m writing.

Let’s talk about empathy and resisting injustice. Army Spc. Alyssa Peterson’s empathy for those in her control — in the face of orders to brutalize them and surrounded by others all too willing to do so — is what led her to kill herself. As Greg Mitchell writes:

Appalled when ordered to take part in interrogations that, no doubt, involved what we would call torture, she refused, then killed herself a few days later, in September 2003. . .

The official probe of her death would later note that earlier she had been "reprimanded" for showing "empathy" for the prisoners. One of the most moving parts of the report, in fact, is this: "She said that she did not know how to be two people; she … could not be one person in the cage and another outside the wire."

Are you willing to live by your own words, Mr. President? It sure doesn’t sound like it. You were correct, there toward the end, when you said

It will not be easy. At times, fulfilling these obligations require self-reflection.

We as a nation need to engage in that difficult yet required self-reflection. The reports are piling up: the ICRC [pdf], the SSCI, SASC, and others, with the DOJ’s Office of Professional Responsibility soon to be added to the pile. How many will it take, before you are willing to do that "self-reflection"?

So today, during this season when we celebrate liberation, resurrection, and the possibility of redemption, may each of us renew our resolve to do what must be done. And may we strive each day, both individually and as a nation, to be among the righteous.

That would be a good idea, Mr. President. We’ve been waiting eight years for it — why don’t you give that "do what must be done" thing a try?