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Gonzales: Inquisitor General

A BUZZFLASH READER CONTRIBUTION
by Martha Robbins

BuzzFlash,

Institutional torture has been around for centuries. In the 13th century, Pope Gregory IX formalized the Medieval Inquisition and commissioned certain Dominicans to investigate a group of powerful heretics in southern France. The inquisition spread from this narrow investigation to northern Italy, Germany and the Papal States. As its power grew, the Inquisition soon resorted to "judicial torture". The French heretics and then others were eventually persuaded to abandon their beliefs and embrace Catholicism.

In the 1400s, Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain instituted the Spanish Inquisition. The name Torquemada, the first Inquisitor General has become synonymous with cruelty. Why did Spain introduce its own inquisition? To root out Moorish and Jewish converts who weren’t sincere. However, absolute power corrupts absolutely and too soon the Spanish Inquisition evolved from its stated purpose to become a reign of terror that engulfed all Spanish citizens regardless of their faith.

As time went on, we saw other state supported torture –- in recent times, Russia, Nazi Germany and some of the Latin American countries quickly come to mind. And now, as our U.S. Senate considers appointing Alberto Gonzales Attorney General, institutional torture is on our doorstep. We are leaving it up to a handful of decency-impaired people to decide whether we will open the door or bar the gate. If Alberto Gonzales becomes Attorney General, we may as well call him Inquisitor General.

Once the powerful have torture condoned as a means to an end, believe this: the targets will shift from suspected terrorists to any of us who question this government.

Any of the Senate or representatives who approve of Gonzales for this post will not be remembered for any good they accomplished. As the screams of the damned echo through the ages, the evilness of appointing Gonzales as Inquisitor General will be their legacy.

A BUZZFLASH READER CONTRIBUTION