hope

I can’t remember exactly what she said. It was something like, “But it protects American lives.” Or “They are terrorists.” It was a matter of us versus them, and we were more valuable than them. I did not know how to respond. The woman who made this statement was a friend, had lived overseas, was university educated, and, I thought, had compassion. I was stunned into silence.

It was just over a year post 9/11 and I was gathered with friends to study the Bible. At the end of our time together discussion moved to politics, particularly Guantanamo Bay, which was then starting to show up in the news with increasing frequency. I was in disbelief over the situation and embarrassed that we, as a nation, were side-stepping the law and holding men indefinitely without charging them. My heart was heavy over the crimes that America was committing in Guantanamo Bay, and I, as an American and an International citizen, wanted it to end. Not in six months or a year or ten years when all of the terrorist were caught and the threat level at airports was back to green, but I wanted it done yesterday, or, in the least, today.

In my mind America was becoming like the nations and ideals she was fighting – making up her own rules and pretending that there were no consequences to her actions. Guantanamo was supposed to be a secret, a way to step around rules and live above the law. This was made acceptable by the attitude of fear that was being instilled in the nation from its highest offices. Innocent until proven guilty. This foundational concept of our court systems was tossed out the window not only by my friend but by our leaders. Detainees at Guantanamo were nameless and faceless; they were terrorists. They were thems. They were the thems that sabotaged us on our land and threatened our children. Having them in custody made us feel safe. Them. Us. Us. Them.

Today President Obama took a significant step towards ending the battle of us versus them by halting prosecutions at Guantanamo. I know that there is still a long way to go for the entire operation to be shut down, but I have new hope that we will, possibly soon, be a nation that is not ruled by an attitude of fear. I have hope that we will abide by laws and live with an assumption of actions having consequences. I have hope that we will not classify the people of the world as ‘us’ and ‘them’, but will instead place equal value on each person’s life. It will be a long road to get there, but I have hope.