(Video from CNN)
Okay, I admit it. I enjoy watching "24." It's exciting television. But I always keep in mind that it's only a TV show. Many conservatives, however, seem to have a hard time making the distinction between TV and real life. They're in love with "24" and Jack Bauer because they see it as a validation of Bush's pro-torture policy. It proves to them that we have to torture if we don't want to be destroyed by the terrorists.
The latest conservative to prove my point is Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who recently, while participating in a panel discussion on torture and terrorism law, remarked...
"Jack Bauer saved Los Angeles...He saved hundreds of thousands of lives...Are you going to convict Jack Bauer? Say that criminal law is against him? 'You have the right to a jury trial?’ Is any jury going to convict Jack Bauer? I don’t think so.”
Scalia apparently was defending torture, believing that the ends justify the means. Of course, the ticking time bomb scenario portrayed every 10 minutes on "24" is, in reality, a very rare occurence. If we're going to use a TV show to justify our policy on terrorism, I think we're in even deeper trouble than I thought.
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