Station X: Jesus Is Stripped of His Garments

Steve Chappell

After the attack of September 11, 2001, the United States lost an opportunity to demonstrate to the entire world what a great nation it can be. Had we taken more time to collect our thoughts and sort through our emotions, we could have shown that, even under extreme circumstances, we can be humble and wise. Instead, the Bush Administration reduced our nation to the very thing our enemies despise: a greedy, imperialist superpower, willing to claim whatever it desires whatever the cost, even hundreds and thousands of innocent lives. We will suffer the effects of our hasty vengeance for many years to come.

By breaking the rules of the Geneva Convention, the Bush Administration has raised our country to a whole new level of hypocrisy. Throughout Bush’s rule, prisoners have been tortured and murdered. The torture techniques used have not only been physical but psychological as well, challenging the captives’ cultural, spiritual, and sexual values. These techniques were carried out sadistically by government-sanctioned interrogators. No compassion. No empathy. Only contempt.

Torture by our government should be viewed as a crime against our nation. Our government’s actions and behavior reflect on all of us. If the people of the United States do not stand up and acknowledge this by bringing the perpetrators to justice, then we are accomplices. We must practice the democracy we preach and formally charge the Bush Administration for its crimes. That’s the least we owe to all the innocent people whose lives have been taken or thrust into chaos.

Steve Chappell lives in Madison, Wisconsin. His interest in printmaking began in the early 1980s while studying at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Wood block printmaking has always been his central focus, though more recently he has turned his attention to cartooning and book design.