Law Commons^™

American Innocence, Robert N. Strassfeld

Faculty Publications

The sad fact is that our relationship to torture and other atrocities is more complicated and less innocent than we or President Bush would like to believe. This article examines that relationship and the ways in which we try to distance ourselves from torture and atrocity. Part II briefly explores our notions of exceptionalism and innocence. Part III then turns to our efforts to evade responsibility for torture and atrocity. First, it briefly discusses ways in which we try to deny our own acts of torture and abuse through rhetorical misdirection and by relegating torture to the shadows. Part III's …