torture

The Senate report on torture came out today. It tells us things we don't want to know about ourselves.

After 9/ll, Fear drove our country to such an extent that we did things not consistent with who we like to think we are. Granted, it was done to seek to prevent 9/ll like events from ever happening again. But there is little in the report to lead us to believe that actually happened--that we were made safer by the extreme measures taken by the CIA and others in the interrogation of possible terrorists.

What happened was agencies of our government resorted to the kind of atrocities we stand against to try to prevent further atrocities.

Fear still dives our nation in so many ways: fear of young black men, fear of illegal immigrants, fear of 'the other' in our midst, fear of letting people be free to love who they love, fear of 'the government' itself. So much fear.

Fear needs to be replaced by 'concern' and 'action'. Concern about the poverty in our nation and action to redistribute the abundance that we have in a fairer way. Concern about being open to 'the other' and action to include them into our society. Concern about how many people we incarcerate and action to reduce the population of prisons. Concern about those who seek to find a better life for themselves, as almost all our ancestors did, by coming to America and action to incorporate them into our economy...and live up to the words on the statue of Liberty.

Fear twists and deforms us. Fear makes us into people we don't want to be. Fear drives us apart instead of bringing us together.

Fear keeps us from being our better selves.

Fear is the problem.

:Hope is the solution.