On Respect for People with a Moral Conscience

The New York Times has published a valuable OP-Ed by Jameel Jaffer and Larry Siems that contends Obama should "Honor Those Who Said No" to commands to torture:

Throughout the military, and throughout the government, brave men and women reported abuse, challenged interrogation directives that permitted abuse, and refused to participate in an interrogation and detention program that they believed to be unwise, unlawful and immoral. The Bush administration’s most senior officials expressly approved the torture of prisoners, but there was dissent in every agency, and at every level.

There are many things the Obama administration could do to repair some of the damage done by the last administration, but among the simplest and most urgent is this: It could recognize and honor the public servants who rejected torture.

For the most part, people with a moral conscience have been hounded and harrassed for failing to turn a blind eye to the crimes against humanity being fostered by their superiors. Those superiors have been, and continue to be, nurtured by broad support from the evangelical community in America.

These facts, along with their support for pre-emptive war in Iraq, constitute the most damning evidence of the moral bankruptcy of the American evangelical community. Until evangelicals come their senses and repent, Ichabod will be the proper surname for their tribe.