Saturday, June 18, 2005
Don't Accept the Hype
Former gulag inmate Pavel Litvinov's essay in the Washington Post provides a useful corrective to Amnesty International's hyperbolic assertion that Guantanamo constitutes the gulag of our age. When one compares the scale, intent, and operation of the two systems, the uselessness of the analogy is even more apparent. Moreover, there's something offensive in such casual use of the gulag as a metaphor. These kinds of analogies are a two way street. As often as not, they cheapen the event being invoked more than they elevate our understanding of its contemporary counterpart.
Litvinov recounts the following conversation with an Amnesty staffer:
At a time when the Bush administration is being accused of exaggerating the evidence that Iraq possessed WMD, it's a little embarrassing to see Amnesty producing its own brand of hype. As Litvinov argues, Amnesty does the greatest damage to itself - allowing it to be publicly dismissed as politically biased by the Bush administration. Hyperbole undermines one's own credibility, whether one is arguing for a war or against a detainment system. Critics of the Bush administration would do well to avoid employing its own methods.
Litvinov recounts the following conversation with an Amnesty staffer:
"Don't you think that there's an enormous difference?" I asked him.
"Sure," he said, "but after all, it attracts attention to the problem of Guantanamo detainees."
At a time when the Bush administration is being accused of exaggerating the evidence that Iraq possessed WMD, it's a little embarrassing to see Amnesty producing its own brand of hype. As Litvinov argues, Amnesty does the greatest damage to itself - allowing it to be publicly dismissed as politically biased by the Bush administration. Hyperbole undermines one's own credibility, whether one is arguing for a war or against a detainment system. Critics of the Bush administration would do well to avoid employing its own methods.
