The segment is called "Free Speech". Someone gets on and gives their opinion about something. Sometimes it's innocuous. Sometimes its offensive. And then there was this one.
Natan Sharansky is a Jew born in the Soviet Union in 1948. He was arrested in 1977 for speaking out against the government and spent almost 9 years in a Soviet prison for treason. Released in 1986 after historic Reagan-Gorbachev negotiations, Sharansky went to Israel and was received as a hero. If anyone knows about torture, it would be Mr. Sharansky. But he also has other information that is best known from personal experience -- information he shared in this segment.
It started out as one might expect.
Some believe that certain controversial interrogation techniques are acceptable. But after nine years in the Soviet Gulag, and 400 days in punishment cells, I know that sleep deprivation, exposure to cold, and enforced hunger are forms of torture.Yes, we understand, Mr. Sharansky. You consider these to be torture, and you're against them.
Maintaining our principles in the face of terror is sometimes dangerous. Abandoning those principles would be even more dangerous.So it seemed to be your standard "'America is wrong' once again" speech. But then came this amazing turn.
Still, I am deeply concerned that some of those who insist that America not cede the moral high ground do not recognize that America stands on the moral high ground.What? This was not the standard "America stinks" speech. This was a "Don't forget how great a country this is" speech. Mr. Sharansky pointed out several reasons that we should think as he does.
America is different because your citizens can protest without going to prison. America is different because your courts can defend rights and your press can expose injustice. America is different because your Congress can hold hearings and because your people can hold your leaders accountable. America is different because America is free.Very few people will realize how much I appreciated Natan Sharansky's comments. He epitomized what I would like to see far more often. Mr. Sharansky said, in essence, "This particular aspect is wrong" and then went on to say "But don't think that America is evil because there is one wrong aspect." Mr. Sharansky said, "We shouldn't do this thing" and, instead of calling us evil because some disagreed, he simply reminded us of the good that should pull us past it.
One of my pet peeves is people who complain without end, and people who complain without suggesting anything better. Mr. Sharansky exemplified someone with a dissenting opinion from our president without stooping to insult the president or the nation, suggesting instead a higher calling.
In standing up against torture, I hope that all Americans will remember the profound moral divide that separates the free world from the world of fear and work to advance abroad the very principles you so rightly cherish at home.Thank you, Natan Sharansky.
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