He imprisons and tortures at Guantanamo. He imprisoned and tortured at Abu Ghraib. He has secret torture chambers in Europe. Yes, he imprisons even here in the United States, with his jails carrying more blacks than his universities can ever enroll. He even suspends the provisions of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights. Take Guantanamo for example; at that concentration camp international law does not apply. The national laws of the people there do not apply. Laws of the United States of America do not apply. Only Bush's law applies. Can the international community accept being lectured by this man on the provisions of the universal declaration of human rights? Definitely not! [4]
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Western leaders accused of human rights abuses lack moral standing to lecture others.
- In plain terms
- Leaders who torture cannot teach about human rights.
- What can you take from it?
- Hypocrisy invalidates moral authority on human rights.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Can guilty parties judge others?
- What is moral authority?
Another view
Accusations may distract from local abuses.
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