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Take back the night

by Nicholas M. Jackson

Does art imitate life? Bruce Springsteen wrote a song in late 1970s that became a classic after he suggested to Patti Smith the tune might work better if she adapted and performed it. The adapted version of “Because the Night” became a staple in Smith’s repertoire and has been covered by numerous performers over the years. I like watching videos of more recent Patti Smith versions because an older-looking Patti seems to capture the spirit of Springsteen’s lament as he originally intended. Oh, you can look at some of the covers done by the young and beautiful but you know they aren’t entitled to insist, as Patti does, that the night belongs to lovers and love. It’s pretty plain that life has not beaten them to the last refuge of a lover’s arms.

When you look at Springsteen’s 2004 powerful performance of “Because the Night” with R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe it’s as if the song has come full circle to include everyman’s lament. In this version, Stipe and Springsteen tell the audience the night belongs to “us.”

But our generation has its own growing lament reaching beyond any grief over lost youth. There is no refuge when dark forces can record every whispered conversation and whisk anyone to a secret prison. Tyrannical architects have invented systems of imprisonment and torture supporting an endless “war against terror.” Urging creative counterterrorism measures against a “new kind of enemy” they morph at will, the architects let us know anyone is suspect. Everything we grew up with is dismantled or recast in ersatz form. Today the night is not for refuge --- it’s for nightmares. The night belongs to “them.”

The nightmares are reflected in the remembered images of returned soldiers whose every kill was a civilian --- an “unlawful combatant.” Night and fog befuddles the synapses of suspected terrorists subjected to “enhanced interrogation techniques.” Scores of “detainees” are known by name, but they have disappeared. This shame will be part of the US legal DNA for untold generations if not exorcised --- with great prejudice.

As early as November of 2005 former CIA director Stansfield Turner described Dick Cheney as the “vice president for torture.” Human rights organizations have identified numerous detainees who have died during interrogations. A former counselor to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Philip Zelikow, now admits that the coercive questioning and physical torment our government imposed upon our captives was “immoral.” But Zelikow claims the United States started developing a new and more humane interrogation paradigm even before the US Supreme Court ruled that detainees were subject to Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions. If we are to believe Philip Zelikow, our leaders can fix the “immorality” problem without our help.

So, at this late hour, we focus on sideshows about fired US Attorneys and ordinary corruption in government. Some say President Bush and Vice President Cheney should be impeached --- as if that supremely political process would cleanse the United States --- or would even be allowed to run its course. Why use political tools when crimes have been committed?

Allowing festering criminality to continue under the redefining doublespeak of “national security” threatens basic human rights as they have long been practiced in the United States and accepted worldwide. Increasingly intrusive surveillance and eavesdropping are reversing gains in privacy rights many Americans thought were sacrosanct under constitutional protection. Just as George Orwell’s “1984” lovers, Winston Smith and Julia, thought they had a trysting room without Big Brother’s spying telescreens, we blithely exchange emails as government agencies can record each keystroke.

If the architects of six years of US torture and illegal surveillance policies are not held criminally liable for the damage they have inflicted, such policies are likely to continue under future presidents. We may see life imitating art as Patti Smith’s “Because the Night” crashes into Winston Smith’s “1984” nightmare. It’s time to take back the night. Bring the war criminals to justice.

Endara Hill, Father Gallego in his church and his community
UNI, Panama violates security guards' rights and international labor norms
Leis, Building student citizenship
Madriz, The Greater Caribbean's growing rum dialogue
Pilgrim, The G8 and climate change
CGID, Obnoxious racial divisions from Guyana play out in New York politics
Baker, Prescription drugs: where's the free market?
Monteforte, Ethanol can lead to starvation

Avnery, 40 bad years

E. Jackson, Richardson's the best in a strong Democratic field

Bernal, A disgraceful spectacle

Sirias, A debt to a great teacher

N. Jackson, Take back the night

Silkwood, OAS Secretary General Insulza