BYU Amnesty

Sounds awesome. One question: can we put up the i...

2009-02-20T17:25:00.000-07:00

Sounds awesome. One question: can we put up the info on the website too so people can just email their letters to us and we can print them out and mail them?

There is not an easy answer to this question. It's...

2008-12-24T09:47:00.000-07:00

There is not an easy answer to this question. It's a very good question though, and one that needs to be asked.

Here are my two cents. I don't disagree that Saddam was a terrible person who committed atrocious crimes against his own people. However, there are not a few other awful dictators around the world like him, or possibly even worse. I don't think the US went in to Iraq to solve human rights abuses. We certainly don't seem to care so passionately about any of the other problem areas of the world enough to invade them.

The problem with invading Iraq, in my opinion, was the unilateral-ness of it. Basically, we decided things needed to change, so we went and changed them. (Yeah, we put together a "coalition of the willing," but it was basically us who were behind the whole idea) Without building real international support, or even looking at whether once Saddam was gone there was any kind of native Iraqi leadership who could take the reins. We wanted to, we did it. Very little planning or mature evaluation of the situation seemed to happen. With that kind of reckless cowboy diplomacy, I don't blame the world for being mad at us. We've created a mess in Iraq.

I think we should be extremely wary of overthrowing foreign governments, and we should probably never be the ones to instigate such a thing. I think of the American revolution, where the colonists themselves started a revolution and sought the help of other countries in their war against Britain. I would be in favor of an indigenous movement for democracy--aiding people like the Hungarians in 1956. I don't think it works to force democracy on a country that isn't already fighting for it themselves.

Specifically with the ongoing crisis in the Congo, I don't know what exactly the US can do. I don't think going in and taking over the country would be wise, but inaction is obviously not acceptable either. I'm sure though that there are more things we can do in the diplomatic and humanitarian areas. There are more than just military options. I don't think we can solve this problem for the people of the Congo, but we need to care, and be ready to offer any assistance we can.

Thanks for the thoughtful comment, I'd love to hear any other thoughts you have, as well as anybody else's ideas.

So, what do we do about this, and other atrocities...

2008-12-24T07:27:00.000-07:00

So, what do we do about this, and other atrocities mentioned on this page?

Last time the US took action to control a regime that was participating in such human right's abuses (that were later confirmed by the international community and the leader of that nation was executed), the US leadership was (and are) condemned for doing so. What's a superpower to do? We (as a nation, and as individuals) can certainly help victims and such, but as far as actually stopping and preventing things, what is to be done?

It seems that if we get involved and overthrow governments, regimes, or groups, then folks don't like it. If we do nothing, the same folks don't like it. Evil causes misery, but if we are unwilling to destroy that evil, the misery will continue. It would be nice if we could non-violently change the evil into good, but, in many cases, this seems unlikely if not impossible. I am interested some thoughts on this.

Great question! You can contact Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley who commissioned the panel. It sounds like he is opposed to the death penalty already, but getting emails from lots of people could encourage him to take more urgent and forceful action on the subject. You could also write to individual Maryland state legislators, especially if you are from Maryland, to encourage them to take action on this report. And there's always the opportunity to discuss these issues with roommates and friends to help educate the public, no matter where they're from.

And if you're really motivated, there's a link on the right hand side of our page here (somewhere!) titled "What Can I Do?" that has links to other specific actions you can take on various human rights issues.

That's nice to hear. Is there anything we can do t...

2008-11-14T17:10:00.000-07:00

That's nice to hear. Is there anything we can do to encourage the decision? Letter-writing? Phone-banking?

I just read an amazing letter from Troy Davis, which he wrote on Sep. 22nd, the day before he was supposed to be executed. I think it shows the positive impact people can have on someone who is a victim of human rights abuses.

Here's an excerpt, though the whole thing is worth a read:

"I cannot answer all of your letters but I do read them all, I cannot see you all but I can imagine your faces, I cannot hear you speak but your letters take me to the far reaches of the world, I cannot touch you physically but I feel your warmth everyday I exist.

"So Thank you and remember I am in a place where execution can only destroy your physical form but because of my faith in God, my family and all of you I have been spiritually free for some time and no matter what happens in the days, weeks to come, this Movement to end the death penalty, to seek true justice, to expose a system that fails to protect the innocent must be accelerated."

And if anyone's still reading this, I enjoyed
2008-09-30T15:31:00.000-06:00
And if anyone's still reading this, I enjoyed this doonesbury on the topic.

Along with what Austin just said, I think it's cri...

2008-09-26T14:13:00.000-06:00

Along with what Austin just said, I think it's critical that we be aware not just of what we as a country are doing, but what precedence our example sets for the rest of the developing world where legal systems aren't nearly as thorough nor exhaustive as our own. How could we ever tell Pakistan that their use of the death penalty is putting innocent people at risk if we ourselves are still employing such an extreme measure of punitive justice?

My prayers are with Troy, and all others who may have been wrongfully accused.

I was glad there was more of a variety of viewpoin...

2008-09-25T20:09:00.000-06:00

I was glad there was more of a variety of viewpoints today; it looked like about half of the people there were in favor of completely abolishing the death penalty, which made for a good discussion and hearing both sides. It's certainly not a simple subject, but I think we can all agree that there are disturbing trends in the application of capital punishment and that we as a country need to be aware of what we're doing and who we are putting to death and think very hard about what is and isn't acceptable evidence for ending a human life.

the use of torture in the war on terror makes me q...

2008-09-19T00:11:00.000-06:00

the use of torture in the war on terror makes me question a lot of things about the bush administration. why do they claim that they get valuable information from torturous interrogations and still tap into our private phone conversations and put people like cat stevens (yusuf islam) on terrorist watchlists? acting unconstitutionally obviously isn't getting them anywhere.

i also vote yes to a campus forum.

I say they're all torture and completely antitheti...

2008-09-18T23:05:00.000-06:00

I say they're all torture and completely antithetical to everything America stands for.

I definitely would vote for a forum on campus on the topic of American torture with a range of viewpoints. If we could get anyone with experience in interrogation or international law or something that would be amazing. I really feel like this is a subject that should be talked about and debated, no matter which side you are on. Too many people at BYU have no idea what is going on at Guantanamo.