Review of Taxi to the Dark Side (2008) by Nora W — 18 Feb 2009

'Taxi to the Dark Side' is a documentary telling the story of an Afghani taxi driver who in 2002 was detained by American forces and killed while in custody. This story of one man's treatment is used as a springboard into US policy on torture in modern times including Abu Graib and Guantanamo Bay.

Since the birth of this nation, America has had the sense that we were on the side of good. And that we were a nation guided by natural rights, justice, and always by law. But as observed in the film, many Americans in the post-9/11 world no longer feel the need to be morally superior. And this feeling can be traced to the "dead or alive," "with us or against us," "enhanced-interrogation" mentality of the Bush administration that was borne out in the abuses that occurred in American prisons.

America was founded on the principals of 'human dignity and the sanctity of the individual.' So to allow both the mistreatment of detainees and to further deny their right to habeus corpus is - in the words of the film - "to say that our forefathers were wrong about mankind's inalienable rights.".

As we enter the first new presidency after 9/11, let us remember the words of one of those forefathers Ben Franklin: "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a temporary safety deserve neither." For there will undoubtedly be another terrorist attack in the world - one where Americans may be injured or even killed. And the argument that we have to abuse detainees in order to protect our safety violates our deepest values and runs counter to everything America stands for. Let us remember that we fight not only to protect this country's safety, but more importantly, it's principles.