Last words

America’s image of an independent judicial branch can never be brandished to the international community for as long as Mahvish Khan’s words continue to be heard. The judicial branch is clearly arm in arms with the rest of the administration, and as seen before in the onset of WWII, terror gets the best out of people when a vague “other” is branded with the title of enemy. It is ludicrous of a society as informed as America’s to believe that every single individual coming out of the Middle East is most likely a terrorist, if so one would expect all Americans to strongly adhere to George W Bush’s values. Now that is a strong imagery that would make many Americans cringe, if so how come a few bad people in the Middle East have managed to come to represent the whole region? The responsibility lies not upon those terrorists, but on the ignorance of the public, who consequently refuses to open their eyes after the blindfold has been removed. If prisoners who were tortured, humiliated, and felt the slap of injustice every day at the hands of their American captors manage to keep an open minded image of the rest of the population, it should be a no brainer that an “advanced” society should be able to do the same. I am grateful for this course, as it has given me the opportunity to back my opinions with facts. I am a better citizen of the world for it. Thank you Professor Metcalf.

Some thoughts about American Justice

After reading most of the Guantanamo Bay stories, I am more than ever skeptical about the international justice system.

I am especially irritated by the constant reference to America’s judicial system being fair, when people have been oppressed in this country for centuries, and it is still hard to find the silver lining.

If it is true that the American judicial branch of the government is so respectable because of landmark cases, how come there is little sign of improvement. After all, a judicial branch like any of a government is supposed to improve its procedures, and eliminate inadequacies, if so, how come the same injustices arise and it takes years to fix the obvious wrong that is being done.

My answer is a rather sarcastic one for lack of inspiration, I believe that the judicial branch directly reflects the people in power at the time and rarely remains impartial. Khan refers to the case of Japanese being sent to concentrations camps, and of one Japanese young man making a difference in the Supreme Court. Yes he did win the case, however thousands of Japanese were mistreated, and their rights were violated regardless of the verdict.

I believe that as long as the Americans believe that this country is free, and its government is one of the more just in the world, there is little chance of improvement. That is the reason why people need to hear about the stories of the Guantanamo Bay so that there could be a coalition of the people, and the system could change. Perhaps that is too idealistic, but it is still better than watching innocent people suffering not only on American soil, but on foreign soil in the name of “American” values.