On Torture

In surveying the realities of torture, the contributors unearth commonalities in the creation of torturers during the Algerian War, the systematic abuses that enabled Germany's Nazi regime to function, the dehumanizing manner with which the Israeli Defense Forces allegedly treat Palestinians in the Occupied Territories, and the American public's acquiescence to the new norm after the September 11 terror attacks. They reveal the parallels between the institutionalization of torture within nations and the glorification of war and violence in artistic endeavors throughout the ages and explain how internalizing and accepting torture usurps individual freedom and subverts humanity. From publisher description.