At 20:50 30-11-01 -0500, Gautam Mukunda wrote: >But of course it's okay for the US government to have different standards >for foreign nationals than it does for US citizens - and still more >different ones for foreign nationals outside of US sovereignty than it does >for those living in the United States.
It is not. You want everyone in the US to be subject to the same penal code, regardless of whether or not they are US citizens, but you apparently also believe that whether other laws are applicable is decided by the nationality of a person. That is not okay -- that is discrimination. Let's say that you are a terrorist of US nationality, and get arrested in here The Netherlands for bombing Schiphol International Airport, together with your Dutch accomplice. Would you find it acceptable if your comrade would get legal representation and a fair trial, while you would be denied all that, simply because you are not a Dutch citizen? >This says, instead, that the moral code that we have adopted as a society, >enshrined in the Constitution, is superior to that of our enemies, and we >have the right to try them according to our standards. That the specific >_procedures_ we adopt are different in war and peace, and different for our >citizens and non-citizens who have taken up arms against us, is not morally >relative - it's nothing more than common sense. No, that is discrimination. Every person on this planet, regardless of what crimes s/he may have committed, is still a human being whose basic human rights (such as the right to a fair trial) should be respected. I do not remember the Universal Declaration of Human Rights saying something along the lines of "these rules apply to everyone, EXCEPT <insert list here>". When we deny someone these rights for whatever reason (because of the crimes s/he committed, or because of that person's nationality), we betray the very foundation of our so called civilised society. You do not show moral superiority by saying you adopt a superior moral code; you show moral superiority by treating your enemies better than they would treat you. Jeroen _________________________________________________________________________ Wonderful World of Brin-L Website: http://go.to/brin-l Tom's Photo Gallery: http://www.tom.vanbaardwijk.com
