The Torture Debate

I read an article on cnn.com regarding Reese Witherspoon’s upcoming movie, “Extraordinary Rendition“. This movie deals with the US government’s deportation of terrorism suspects to other countries in order to interrogate them in ways which are unlawful in the USA.

People are all over the map on the issue, of course. Some maintain that if torture saves American lives, we should maintain the policy. Others counter that violation of the anti-torture provisions in treaties to which we are a party weakens our hold on the moral high ground and increases the likelihood of torture being used on Americans abroad.

What impressed me about this otherwise hum-ho article pumping the upcoming release of a new movie, though, was the last three paragraphs. Witherspoon took an unusual position for someone with a high Hollywood profile:

While “Rendition” openly challenges U.S. policy in the war on terrorism, Witherspoon plays the diplomat when asked if she thinks unlawful detention and torture are ever justified.

Witherspoon said she prefers to keep her own counsel and not let her beliefs muddy up the debate.

“I have a real aversion to talking about my own personal politics just because I feel the influence sometimes, I see the influence of celebrity on our culture,” Witherspoon said. “And to think that my opinion is any more informed than anyone else’s or taken as thus is erroneous. I’m just like everybody else. I’m learning, reading, I’m trying to figure it out. …

“I can’t imagine being responsible for national security or global security. I can’t imagine having to be in that position and make those decisions. That’s why I’m not. That’s why I’m an actor,” Witherspoon said, laughing. “I’m allowed to question these things, question them and think about them and hopefully get other people talking about them. That’s the best you can hope for.”

I empathize with the desire to use one’s fame to advance worthwhile causes. Were I in the public eye, I probably would be quick to use my new-found exposure to advance positions I support. But Witherspoon now has an immense amount of respect from me for having the wherewithal to admit her lack of competence on a particular issue, and subsequent choice to avoid public advocacy of a position.

Good on ya, Reese.