Blogged

Durbin Agonistes

Amid the howls of betrayal on the left over Dick Durbin’s tearful Guantanamo apology - an apology for the impact of his statement, not for the substance of his criticism - and the sneering jubilation on the right, Jeanne D’Arc at Body and Soul has written the kind of frank and thoughtful letter that the beleaguered senator really needs to read. I’m guessing you need to read it too (except that Body & Soul is now a private blog, assuming that it still exists at all, so the previously provided link is defunct and all we have to offer is this excerpt).

Reading over your statement, I’m not so sure you were responding to pressure from torture’s apologists. I have a feeling you heard from some people who were genuinely hurt by your analogy (as opposed to the vast majority who feigned shock to draw attention away from the points you made) and were speaking mainly out of concern for their feelings. As someone concerned about what the glorification of militarism does to this country, who often risks having her attacks on military sentimentality come across as attacks on soldiers, I understand that desire not to have your words, even your twisted and distorted words, used to hurt innocent people.

But if that was the case, you should have addressed any “apology” directly to those people, not to the Senate, and pointed out that if what you said came across as an insult directed at them, that was not your intention. And then you should have come back all the harder on the main points of your original speech: We love this country, and we will not stand by while it takes up, bit by bit, step by step, the tools of its enemies. I hate to be so blunt, but this is how the game is played.

If you really care about this country, and about human rights — and I sincerely believe you do — you have to learn those rules very quickly. And you can’t allow yourself the luxury of being afraid of your own words.

Here’s hoping Jeanne actually sent Durbin the letter.

Addendum: I just don’t have it in me to write much myself about the Durbin debacle, apparently. Fortunately for us all, Michael Bérubé does:

Durbin said nothing for which any reasonable, honest person should request an apology. I know it, you know it, even Andrew Sullivan knows it. Durbin said that America should treat prisoners better than brutal dictatorships do. But I suppose we all know the real reason why wingnuts have a problem with that.

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