Hannah Arendt had a strong belief that concentration camps are the highest, most capable form of evil done by man. They are an example of total domination and its aims to eliminate individuality. In class I raised the point of Guantanamo Bay and its use of camps and how they are very similar to the concentration camps of Nazi Germany. Some may be thinking that it is quite a stretch to compare our government’s detainee camp to one of Nazi Germany but while discussing the two in class I was also surprised how closely the two are related.
Within concentration camps of Nazi Germany, Jews were stripped of their identity, belongings, clothing, spouses, and children they were given a number and a job to do if not sentenced to death. Within Guantanamo Bay detainees were captured (many without strong evidence of terrorist support) stripped from their environment, clothing, religious practice, and identity. Once arrived to Cuba, they were given a number and a camp assignment. Every so often a detainee was transferred from one camp to the next. If a detainee wasn’t allotting the torturer information that he wanted to hear, the detainee would be sent to a “worse” camp; with a different uniform, different living conditions, different food, different washing privileges and different bathroom abilities. See this article within this link http://hrw.org/backgrounder/usa/gitmo1004/3.htm for more details regarding the different camps.
I am not saying that the United States government is using gas chambers to kill Arabic men, like the Nazis did with the Jewish. But the US government is using multiple torture tactics that make a many want to die. I don’t know which is worse. Not having the will or desire to live because of the condition that one is trapped in without valid evidence or support, or being killed quickly because of ones religious affiliation. In both cases, Nazi Germany and Guantanamo Bay, man’s psyche is destroyed. To the point where he does not desire to live. The ultimate elimination of an individual is the destruction of his psyche to the point where he does not desire to live.
2 comments:
I agree with you completely. I feel that Guantanamo is a concentration camp, or at least it may as well be. The government can call it whatever it wants to, but no one is allowed to go there or see what goes on, so for all we know, one of the separate camps might be a death camp. Maybe that’s a little extreme, but sometimes I feel like I wouldn’t be surprised. The aspect of this atrocity that I do not understand is that if the average American citizen can clearly see how contradictory this is to our constitution and to the values that America was built on, then why is it happening? Politicians are not ranked too high on my scale of character or intelligence, but I find it hard to believe that they don’t realize this critical infringement. Let us take a look at the administration.
The Bush administration has been know to have a “shoot first ask questions later” attitude towards their policies, and they have also proved to be very military oriented. The encouragement towards nationalism and the imperialist actions taken by the administration show that what they are doing is not merely a plan of action, but an ideology being played out. How could the entire administration unite under this distinct ideology? How could they all believe they were doing such good for the country? After a bit of searching I found the answers to these questions. The ideology is called “Project for the New American Century.” It was formed during the Clinton administration and criticized his actions. Now the founders of the Project can be found in the White House and in congress, because they make up most of the current administration. To explain the Project briefly, its members believe not in American morals or values, but in American power. Might makes right, if you will. In their statement of principles they state their values, “a military that is strong and ready to meet both present and future challenges; a foreign policy that boldly and purposefully promotes American principles abroad; and national leadership that accepts the United States' global responsibilities.” The project’s goal is to spread American influence throughout the globe and take control over what they believe is not working. The problem here is that four year terms are not nearly enough time for an administration that wants to build up a military and invade, so they need to take out all the stops to leave as much time as possible to rid the world of evil. These pulled stops include our privacy, Habeas Corpus, The UN, weapons inspectors, and other frivolous things of the sort. They believe that taking these things away is okay because they are right, but what they don’t realize is that it is very hard to be right when these things are taken away. That is why they were put in place, because when they are gone, so is the good. Guantanamo Bay is a result of these pulled stops. Once they got rid of or got around those pesky values and laws, Guantanamo appeared as a place where problems could be solved quickly. The people sent there disagree with America’s actions, so they must be wrong, according to the Project’s philosophy. And because we are the world power, we are inherently right.
This is a brief description of my theory on the current administration, but I encourage everyone to check out www.newamericancentury.org and see for yourselves. There is a lot more info on the site about the Project’s policies, and it’s very helpful in understanding the actions of the administration, which seem at times difficult to comprehend.
I would definitely have to agree with your post on a few things. One, I think the fact, as Ben said, that no one is allowed to go to Guantanamo makes it very suspicious. Nobody really knows what is being done to the people sent there except the people themselves and those watching them. We are told there are some torture tactics but nothing extreme; then again what does the government consider extreme nowadays? As for stripping one of their identity, I think that is an even worse crime. We thought what the Germans did to the Nazi’s was so horrible but we do something similar. Maybe we aren’t killing innocent people but sooner or later we may be.
I think not having the will or desire to live is worse then being killed instantly. If people cannot be themselves and live the way they please, then what is the point of living and trying to be what everyone else wants them to be. When reading the original post, I thought of the death penalty. I don’t believe in the death penalty because I think the person who murdered another should have to suffer and be reminded the rest of their lives. They should have to rot in jail for however many years they have left. By giving them the death penalty and killing them instantly, they don’t have to live in jail; they kind of get off the hook. Sure they are dead and have no future but they didn’t have to suffer like their victim did. Therefore, I definitely think to be killed instantly would be better because one won’t have to live under horrible conditions the rest of their life trying to be someone he or she is not.
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