Controversial writing

This week in my English class we were assigned to read an essay that is posted online that argues for the use of torture. It was a very thought provoking and controversial essay. Here is the link.

http://www.coc.cc.ca.us/departments/philosophy/levin.html

I find Mr. Levins argument to be extremely compelling. He offers examples that many of us can sympathize with. The use of New York City in his essay brings up visions of 9/11. If we could have used torture to discover when the attacks were going to take place in order to prevent that massive loss of life, shouldn't we have done so? I think so. His argument may not be considered ethical by many, but his logic is hard to disagree with. The use of the newborn example is one I can support. If someone stole my child and the only way to get her back was through torture, I'm all for it. I have learned that my own writing is too "safe". I usually choose to not write something that could be deemed as confrontational. I prefer to kind of stay under the radar when it comes to a topic that is this controversial. But I think that most people feel this way. The majority of the population avoids conflict. Most people prefer to "go with the flow" than to "rock the boat". What I found most interesting is that I agreed with the essay. When I first saw the link and read what the essay was going to be about I thought "Are you kidding me? Torture is okay? Who is this moron?". Well, apparently he wasn't kidding, torture is okay and I am the moron. It's very interesting to me that when a point is made with good, clear logic and examples that the average person can relate to your opinion can be rather easily swayed.