I Hate the Word…

Savage! Now there’s a powerful word, but one you don’t hear everyday any more.

I remember reading the word a good bit when I was a kid. Native Americans were deemed to be savages in many of the books I read while growing up. At first it may have been because they were considered to be uncivilized by European standards. Later, Native Americans tended to respond in anger when their ancestral lands were over-run or when yet another solemn treaty was broken. But that word savage did its duty.  By designating Native Americans to be savages, by questioning if they even had a soul, their humanity was lost to those who felt the need to kill them. It is easier to kill someone who is savage then someone who is my equal in shared humanity.

Africans were other people who I read about/heard referred to as savages. They too were uncivilized as the story was told. But it was, in part, we civilized folk of European extraction who bought and sold others as slaves. That blatant mindset is not always so easily seen, but as I was growing up I heard of cross burnings in our community, and witnessed how as late as the sixties, having a black man in a restaurant could cause “problems.” It was all just a tame way of declaring African Americans to be savages. The most powerful and deliberate use of the term savage in that regard happened in a conversation I had once when I was fifteen or sixteen.

I was doing my best to hold my own in an argument with a much older, wiser gentleman. The topic was race relations, the setting Virginia in the early 70’s. This gentleman was a true southerner. On one hand a delightful man and on the other a racist. The end of our discussion came when he triumphantly stated these words.

“The white man has been civilized (there’s that word again) for millennia while the black man was a monkey eating savage in the jungle as little as 400 years ago.” I will never forget that short sentence. I turned and walked away. How was I to respond? I knew this didn’t feel right. That attitude, if not the actual words, were wrong, but I didn’t have the evidence to refute him. So I walked away.

Savages eh? The word still sucks the air out of my lungs today, just as it is intended to suck the humanity out of whomever it is heaped upon. What is more troubling to me than the conversation I had as a teenager is that the word seems to be coming back into vogue.

Recently, and on multiple occasions, I have heard Muslims and Islam being referred to as savage. The implication of that kind of language is to dehumanize them. They are merely savages! One person stated, “They should all be kicked out of the army” after the tragic events of Fort Hood. As U.S. congressman went on TV and stated that we should be concerned about them living among us. Sarah Palin flat out stated that some profiling should be done.

Haven’t we been here before in our history? Didn’t we start referring to people as savage and begin acting in ways that, to any unbiased student of history, was an abomination? In Germany, during the run up to the final solution, Jews and other “undesirables” received similar dehumanizing designations in. Before the Rwandan holocaust, people of different tribes used such language when speaking about the others. In fact they often referred to those they did not want associate with as “roaches.”

Terms of derision, dehumanizing terms, and demeaning language has a specific purpose. They help create a sense of superiority within ourselves and lower our opinion of the other. See if they are savages, then we are not. If they are roaches, then we are not. And finally, if they are less human than us, we can more easily treat them in inhuman ways, or perhaps even kill them.

Perhaps one way of thinking about this is to realize that people who commit acts of evil against other people, first regard them as not worthy of living. That is how our country has been viewed by some who have committed acts of terror. We rightly decry their violence. We rightly condemn all being painted with the same brush. But then we turn around and begin the cycle against them by calling them savage.

May the voice of reason once again call us to see all our fellow humans in the way God sees them. May the voice of God teach us how to refer to those who hold to different beliefs. And may God have mercy on us all. We need to be healed of the pride that causes us to elevate ourselves and devalue someone else.

Peace

Leon

Us and Them

One hears a lot of complaints about “the government” these days. There seems, at first blush, to be a very distinct line between us and them. Everyone from politicians to activists offer their thoughts about the relative merits of real America and the Washington D.C. government which is out of touch with the real American values.

As an aside, I find it kind of strange to hear politicians rant against the “out of touch government” while they work so hard to get inside the D.C. beltway. Rarely have I found any of them to perform noticeably different from their predecessors.

Anyway, back to the us against them mentality. To me it seems to be counterproductive at best and a denial of reality at worse. It is too simplistic to point our fingers towards those who have been elected as our leaders and tell them how they screwed things up.

To be sure government at all levels, federal, state and local, has, at times, demonstrated an amazing level of incompetence, inefficiency, self centeredness, sometimes stupidity, a lack of self-control, and even greed. But to sit back and blast away at them, as if they alone are the problem, is to display a collective lack of self-awareness.

Our founding fathers set up this system of government where the people are represented by elected officials; government by the people and for the people. So I submit if we really want Washington, or them, to change we need to change as a society. Rarely have I seen a society as litigious (greedy) as ours. We willingly live beyond our means and rack up massive amounts of consumer debt, and then wonder if there is a program to help us out of the mess (lack of self-control). We tend to be far more concerned about “us four and no more” than we are about the whole of society (self-centered). Even in the community of nations, our collective desire to live as if we are alone on the planet, comes through in less than helpful ways.

Of course you and I wouldn’t actually live that way. We live on a budget, we pay our taxes, and we do our part for the community. It’s the others who are selfish, irresponsible, stupid, and greedy; yeah, it the government and other people, but not us.

Really? Nope. We all carry tendencies towards being selfish and greedy! It is our collective problem and those we elect merely reflect the state of our negative failures along with the good values we hold dear.

I am not saying that everything about our society is bad! We have many admirable traits including generosity, selflessness, ingenuity, and bigheartedness! And I love the relative freedom we enjoy. I only want to point out that we seem to have drawn a line between the government (them) and we the people (us), and this line inhibits our ability to look closely into the failures of our own hearts.

So if, as I contend, there is no them that means there is only us. And if that is true then the only way to change the dysfunction in our government, is to change the dysfunction within our own hearts. And we need to work at it together as a society.

Lord have mercy.

Leon

Just What Does it Take to Make a Decision

My wife is one of those people who likes to tackle a decision only after getting all the facts. Me? Well I think can get “all the facts I need” to make a decision more quickly than she. In other words I like to fly by the seat of my pants.

While Sue and I don’t always reach the same conclusions, there are time when her plodding, methodical approach brings her to the same opinion I reached in about ten seconds. And then there are times when I am enlightened by her “research” and am persuaded to join her wholeheartedly. So we walk on in life and balance each other.

But there was this one time, about ten years ago, when Sue did something uncharacteristically rash. Without having all the plans in place, without knowing all the facts, she made a decision that changed the direction of her life. I was kind of shocked as I watched her, wondering what in the world she was thinking. This was not the Sue I had known for most of a decade. What was going on inside her? Had she taken leave of her senses?

You see ten years ago today, October 2 1999, Sue said I do and married me and our two children. I had lost my first wife to cancer, the kids were three and five years old; and Sue married us anyway! What a difference that has made for us all.

So I got to witness Sue jumping into the great unknown and am grateful to God that I got to jump into the unknown with her.

Happy anniversary Sue.

Peace

Leon

Please Stop The Craziness

I remember where I was when President Kennedy was shot…on the playground at school. I also recall where I was when President Reagan was shot…traveling from PA to VA. The morning Robert Kennedy was shot Mrs. Michaels told us how she cried when she heard the news. While I didn’t like the policies George Wallace espoused, the news that he had been shot and seriously injured while campaigning for president hit me hard. He was the first presidential candidate I of whom I was really aware. President Ford had two attempts made on his life in the 70’s, but escaped injury. However the list of politicians in this country who have been attacked is long and the record shows much tragedy.

To the above list one can add the following presidents/politicians on whom assassins unleashed their hatred: Add Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley, both Roosevelts, and Harry Truman. Not all died, but all had attempts made on their lives. That is 20% of our presidents, not to mention a Senator and a Secretary of State .  Then there are the civil rights and religious leaders who have been shot from Vernon Jordan and Dr. King to Malcolm X and numerous others. It seems clear that politics and guns in our culture do not mix healthily.

Additionally, over the last 50 years, there have been hundreds of innocent people in our country who were shot at colleges, high schools, malls, gyms, in the workplace, and in churches; by people who had real or imaginary axes to grind. But no one, politician or otherwise deserves to be shot due to someone having a grievance with them or anyone else.

So here I sit watching news reports of people bringing loaded guns to events where our president will be speaking. Is it any wonder why rational people get a little nervous? The second amendment notwithstanding, this dangerous behavior is a simple invitation to disaster.

When guns are coupled with shouting, anger and emotional outbursts reminiscent of rioting and out of control mobs (the emotional fervor against this administration is almost cult-like in nature); then danger is present. When guns are coupled with people who say and believe statements like “Obamanation, Obama’s will have death squads, Obama is the Anti-Christ, he (Obama) will destroy our nation, he (Obama) wants to do as much damage to our nation as fast as he can, or someone should put a slug in his (Obama’s) head;” there is a serious problem! When guns are coupled with imagery equating our president and NAZIS, the SS, and Hitler (read deadly enemy) the chances of someone needing to shoot to defend the nation raises dramatically.

I see no good reason why anyone, other than law enforcement, should be allowed to bring a gun within miles of the president. Some will cry “This is a restriction of my constitutional rights!” And I say in response, “One cannot shout fire (when there is no fire) in a crowded theater without the expectation of prosecution, and that is not a violation of freedom of speech. It seems to me that these folks showing up at town hall meetings, especially where the President is present, are trying to bait the administration. By bringing guns to such events, they are clearly making a statement that goes beyond a simple exercising of their second amendment rights. If the authorities dare to ban such demonstrations, this administration will be accused of trampling the second amendment. In that case I fear the almost unhinged folks will become all the way unhinged.

But imagine this scenario with me for a moment. During the previous administration an American citizen, wearing a turban, or perhaps just looking like they might be from the Middle East, shows up at a presidential event bearing a loaded assault rifle. Do you honestly think those who currently support the folks showing up at meetings with guns would demand that this individual be allowed to exercise his/her second amendment rights? I doubt it. More likely such a person would have been accosted, arrested, hauled off, and perhaps even tortured.

Folks. We have to stop the craziness! We must open our hearts to respectful dialogue. Polite discussion must replace hate speech. Wild tales must cease. Like cream in the proverbial bucket of milk, those who really love our country need to rise to the occasion and demonstrate visionary restraint. We must show that there are more of us who value respectful dialogue and reason than there are of those who would tear us apart through unrestrained emotion that could lead to dangerous acts; like using the guns brought into volatile situations.

Peace

I Just Don’t Understand

I just don’t understand.

I don’t understand why people so violently hate the idea of reforming the way health care happens in this country. It’s like they think there is nothing wrong with the system. I recently paid $257 and $66 for the same prescription, three months apart. One was self pay before a new insurance plan kicked in. Something is definitely wrong with that system.

I don’t understand why (some) people on Medicare love it, but insist that the government can’t do anything right, and that any further involvement of the government in health care (or most anything for that matter) would automatically be a disaster.

I don’t understand why people trust government regulations to ensure we have safe bridges, adequate roads, clean water, medicines that are safe and effective, education, the military, safe airplanes, etc., but are so sure that this same “evil” government is out to destroy life as we know it.

I don’t understand why our country is so good at some things and so inept at others.

I don’t understand how blind faith in “the market” is the answer to most every social ill or cultural problem.

I don’t understand the ease with which people think in terms of “us and them.” Often “them” is an ill-defined, vague group of whom the “us” needs to be afraid and oppose. This hampers healthy face to face conversation and makes the truth hard to comprehend.

I don’t understand why many people do not understand that we already have universal health care. People, without formal health coverage, go to the ER because they cannot afford to see a family Dr. and know they will not be turned away. Since they cannot pay, we all pay extra for the services we need to cover their costs. There is no regulation or oversight to reign in these costs so sometimes we get letters from the insurance company saying something like this. “The price you were charged is more expensive than what is reasonable and customary. So we will not cover the full amount.” Then we pay out of pocket over and above co-pays and premiums; definitely something wrong with the system.

I don’t understand why people insist on believing the most insane accusations and conspiracy theories regarding health care reform, or most anyone they stand in opposition to. It only takes a few moments of research to debunk much of what is floating around. Why do people want to believe the unbelievable? For that matter why do such outlandish lies get started in the first place?

I don’t’ understand why people insist on believing that President Obama was born outside of the U.S. in spite of all the evidence to the contrary. Poor Hawaii must feel disrespected every time they release yet another photocopy of the birth certificate.  I also don’t understand why people believed that George W. Bush was somehow involved in the events of 9/11, that President Clinton was involved in killing Vince Foster, or that Roosevelt was involved in the bombing of Pearl Harbor. It’s just seems nuts to me!

I don’t understand why reasonably sane, talented politicians are seduced by power and think they can have affairs, lead double lives, cheat on their families and supporters, and somehow not be found out. Some of the staunchest political supporters of family values have trampled on their marriage vows. People who say they care about those less fortunate treat their families as if they didn’t matter. I just don’t get it.

I don’t understand why bombastic loudmouths (no matter which side they represent) on the radio and TV get by with rude, abusive behaviors and act like grade school bullies; while lying and slandering others. Oh I do understand freedom of speech, but I don’t understand why people listen and feed themselves at such troughs. There has got to be more uplifting ways of informing oneself about what is happening in the world. And respectful conversation, even when you disagree, is actually fun.

I don’t understand people who arrogantly say things like, “This is America: English only.” As one who was fortunate enough to live in another country, I am delighted that I have had the opportunity to stretch and grow as I learned another culture and language. I wish the same blessed experience for everyone in our country, both those who were born here and grew up speaking English, as well as those who immigrate to our country. We can learn so much in the process of learning another language. The world would be a better place if we could all speak a couple of languages. I believe we would reduce our fears of those who are “different” and discover more creative ways of relating.

And finally…

I don’t understand my wife. But that’s another topic altogether which won’t be discussed in my blog. ;~)

Peace.

I Wonder…

I wonder…

Who figured out that if you take cream and slap it around long enough it becomes butter? What possessed whomever it was to even think about beating up the cream? Even if they had a temper tantrum and started smacking the cream, it takes a long time to come up with butter; the tantrum would have played itself out long before then.

And while we are in the dairy aisle, who discovered that you can take milk, mix in some bacteria, stir it, press it (and whatever else they do to make it) and it becomes cheese. Then someone had to figure out how to add different kinds of bacteria and make all kinds of different cheeses. Who had the time? And let’s not even start about yogurt.

How did the first man/woman discover the aroma of roasting coffee? It could have been some goat herder spitting cherry pits (for indeed coffee beans are the pit of the coffee cherry) in the campfire one night when the wafting aroma captured his imagination. And what an imagination! Because he would have then needed to dream up the whole grinding and hot water thing. I guess you have a lot of time when you are following a herd of goats around.

Just how did wine came into being. Sure it was easy enough to allow grapes to go “bad” but who discovered all the steps to making fermented grape juice a delightful beverage worthy of our Lord’s creative interest? I mean you have to put it into barrels, age it, transfer it, add this and that at just the right times, use the proper kinds of corks…I would have thought just getting enough food to the table would keep a body busy.

And who in the world came up with tapioca; and why? My mother-in-law makes wonderful pudding out of the stuff, but who could envision taking the starch from a plant root, making little pearl-like balls that are hard as rocks, cooking them (which makes them soft again) with milk, flavoring, and sugar for a delightful dessert?

Who discovered yeast for goodness sakes?

God bless whoever came up with chocolate in all its forms!

I could go on, but I am sure you could develop a list of your own. In fact why not add to this list just for fun. For now I salute and celebrate those people who had vivid imaginations and left us so many great foods to enjoy.

My Father is my Role Model

A little over twenty three years ago my father began a new phase of his journey. He departed this life and entered the next.

Wherever he went on this earth my father left an indelible impression on those he encountered. To start with he had a port-wine birthmark that covered one half of his face. So to meet him was to see that huge red mark. But in just a few minutes, if you were like 95% of the people who met him, you completely forgot about the birthmark. My father’s warm, gregarious personality overwhelmed any feelings of “look at that red mark.” In short he became your friend and then there was so much more to be fascinated with than a port wine colored birthmark.

Though he was never able to finish the sixth grade, my father was a widely read man. Dad used to say, “If you can read you can learn anything!” And he proved his love of reading by collecting books and magazines on almost any topic, from all around the world. Just off the top of my head I remember a novel about a Chinese peasant, a collection of folk tales from Liberia, Mother Earth News, a host of political writings, McGuffy Readers from the early 1900’s, various tomes on holistic medicine, popular science, popular mechanics; and the list is just getting started.

Dad’s friends were…well most everyone wanted to be his friend. Our home was always open for the stranger. So many people counted our family as their own, that we had a hard time figuring out who should sit where at the funeral. The conversation went something like this. Well there’s Don. He has to sit with the family. Don was about a third cousin, but spent as much time at our house as I did.

We never had Thanksgiving or Christmas where only our immediate family was present. Someone always brought a friend or sometimes even the friend of a friend along who had nowhere to go that day. Each one was welcomed and accepted to sit at that table and enjoy the conversation, great food, and hospitality in our home. The funny thing was that few people felt like they were outsiders. In just minutes they would be laughing and talking, fully engaged in whatever topic was being discussed.

What made this even more interesting was that our family was only one generation removed from being Amish. Both my mother and father were raised Amish. I grew up in a very conservative offshoot of the Amish. We had cars and electricity, but other than that…we looked the part.

Among people who counted my dad as their friend were people who were blatantly racist, people who were deeply religious, as well as those who did not believe in God at all. Our family had so many friendships outside our close Amish-like community, that none of us kids learned how to speak “dutch.”  But to everyone who crossed his path, dad was welcoming, generous, and giving.

He once gave his credit card to a young man who got stuck on his honeymoon and told him to mail it back when he got home. More than once, young men seeking to buy a house, came to my dad for help; and our family really didn’t have that much to spare, but he tried to give these young families a shot at home ownership.

Long after his death, after my brother had purchased the home place and was then getting ready to sell and move away, there was an amazing gathering. So many people had come to see 1121 Rittman Road as their second home, so many referred to my parents as their grandparents, that they gathered together  to remember. They talked about the wonderful days and nights they had spent within those walls. They talked about the way my father had influenced them; befriended them. They reminisced and shared. They all laughed, and some even cried.

Even though my dad had long since begun that new phase of his journey, here were people gathered to remember how his open door home made them feel like they belonged, like they mattered. His generosity had touched them all in some powerful way. He truly reflected God in a powerful way.

So this weekend as I remember my father, I realize anew the desire to be like him. I want my children to see me welcome and accept others, especially those who need a place to feel safe and at home. I want to instill in my children a deep love of books and reading, to be “hunters and gatherers” of learning. And long after I begin that phase of my journey that comes after this life, my hope is that my family and others remember my life as reflecting the values of my both of my fathers…earthly and heavenly.

Peace,

Leon

Camping: I Hate It

It’s that time of the year. School is out and families are preparing to experience the great camping adventures of summer.

We have friends who use pop-up campers, others prefer tents, and there are even a few who love a sleeping bag out under the stars. But they all tell wonderful stories of sitting around the campfire at night, making smores, roasting hotdogs and making hobo breakfasts on the bottom of old tin cans. What an economical way to bring entertainment and fun into the lives of your children.  And it doesn’t stop there. I know elderly people who as they got older bought bigger and better campers. When they camp it is in style. Every weekend throughout the summer one can find large groups of people visiting or playing games together as they sit outside their beautiful pull behinds or RV’s.

I am not one to rain on anyone’s camping experience, but I just don’t like sleeping outdoors. I don’t like sleeping in a tent. I don’t like mosquitoes and bugs. I don’t like choking on smoke. I don’t like baking in the heat or freezing in the cold. Actually camping seems like the perfect way to waste a house. My big beef is with tent camping, but please hear me out. Almost every time I have been camping since 1979 it has rained. In fact, I can only remember one time when it didn’t. And I don’t mean a gentle rain or drizzle.

Once in Indiana there was a tornado. Tents blew away, trees came crashing down, camp sites were flooded; it was a doozy. Then there was that time in the UK, it started raining the minute I got into my sleeping bag. All night long the rain poured down, and before it was done it was raining sideways. I was soaked. My sleeping bag was soaked. My backpack and everything in it was soaked. But since I was not a quitter several nights later we were trekking once again. This time it alternately snowed, hailed and sleeted throughout the night. People always say things like, “Oh but what great memories!” Memories! I needed inner healing after that week!

Sometime since that night I decided the camping Gods had it in for me. Never again would I go camping. But then I got married. And a couple of years ago my wife begged me to go camping in a tent with her and the kids. I told her “No way was I going to sleep in a tent again.” I explained that if I did it would rain. She scoffed at me and muttered something about inducing a curse.

So after we got the tent set up (you see who won that argument) we chatted with the folks nearby and finally decided to go to bed around ten that night. And sure enough it started to rain. The little creek near our tent was transformed into a raging torrent. Soon a small river was running through the tent. Once again everything got soaked and once again I got no sleep. I spent a large chunk of the next day at a laundry washing and drying things out.

I really should find a way to market this unusual ability…or curse. Got a drought? Give me a call. I’ll set up camp and it WILL rain. For now I will watch others go camping and listen to their stories of adventure. Me; I prefer a Hampton Inn and Suites with high speed internet and a good breakfast buffet. I‘m not a weenie. I just hate getting wet out of context.

Peace,

Leon

Deep Thoughts

I like to explore the depth of people from years gone by.  I often read the thoughts of people who lived hundreds or even over a thousand years ago. The difference between the Christian faith many of these people exhibited makes what one sees today in North America seem kind of selfish and superficial.

I find my own mind and heart challenged as I allow those who were giants of faith, in an era that suffered deeply and remained faithful, to speak into my life. So I thought I would share this one I read from Saint John Chrysostom. Saint John lived in the fourth and fifth century. He was a prolific writer, powerful preacher, and lover of God. His thoughts are sometimes so deep that I have to read and re-read them. This piece refers to the “prayer of Jesus.” This ancient prayer of the early Christians goes like this.

“Lord Jesus Christ, son of God. Have mercy on me a sinner.”

Below is the passage from St. John.

Remembering the name of Jesus rouses the enemy to battle. One who forces himself to pray the prayer of Jesus can find anything by this prayer, both good and evil. First, he can see evil in the recesses of his own heart, and afterwords good. This prayer can stir the snake to action, and this prayer can lay it low. This prayer can expose the sin that is living within us, and this prayer can eradicate it. This prayer can stir up in the heart all the power of the enemy, and this prayer can conquer it and gradually root it out. The name of the Lord Jesus Christ, as it descends into the depths of the heart, will subdue the snake which controls it pastures, and will save and revive the soul. Continue constantly in the name of the Lord Jesus that the heart may swallow the Lord and the Lord the heart, and that these two may be one.

Peace,

Leon

Torture: Simply Wrong

As a child I heard about the evils of Communism. I heard about gulags and Stalin. I heard about Khruschev and godlessness. I heard about torture. As got older, and was able to read for myself, I read about first-hand experiences of people who were tortured for their faith.

I remember reading about people being forced to endure temperature extremes, sleep deprivation, beatings, and violence as others attempted to get information out of them. I wondered how people could treat other people so inhumanely. How could a difference of ideas be so misconstrued as to constitute justification for that kind of evil?

Then came the Vietnam War and people from my town were POWS and endured horrible tortures. “Why?” I wondered. “Why do people treat each other like that?”As I matured I learned to feel pride that my country did not engage in those kinds of behaviors.

The “Soviets” were concerned with keeping their society safe from the myths of religion and political ideas that threatened their norm. The Vietnamese were under attack from our forces and used that as a justification for their mistreatment of our soldiers. Both societies were concerned about protecting their way of life. But even as a teenager none of the reasons I heard made enough sense to me as to justify torture and beatings (as an aside, killing people in general does not make much sense to me).

Now I hear people from my government, and my society, using the same kind of rhetoric to justify “enhanced interrogation” techniques. Good, well-meaning people proudly proclaim, “If just one American life is saved it is worth it.” This is not the head in the sand “we didn’t know what was happening” situation the world encountered after WWII. No! We know what was going on. We have pictures of the degrading treatment in Abu Ghraib. And I seriously doubt that such behaviors only happened in that one prison.

We know that people were being water boarded, an activity that has always been considered torture. A Texas sheriff deputy was prosecuted by Ronald Reagan’s Department of Justice for water boarding prisoners in an attempt to get information. But now we have voices at the highest levels of government saying they are not sure if water boarding meets the legal definition of torture since a doctor was always in the room. Now, since it is to protect our way of life, things that once were considered torture by most everyone, are suddenly not so clear.

I am reminded of our erstwhile president’s statement, “It depends on what the meaning of “is” is.” Redefining “is” caused outrage, and justifiably so. Redefining “torture” seems much more palatable to some of those who were aghast at President Clinton’s “is” fiasco. In my opinion both redefinitions are nothing more than attempts to hide from the truth.

Torture is simply wrong. While I do not want our country attacked, and I do not want American lives lost; I do not believe that safety is worth losing our collective soul. It is wrong to engage in the kinds of behaviors our constitution and the Geneva Convention condemn. It is wrong to adopt methods of treating others, even those considered our enemies, that constitute torture.

Please. Not in my country and not in my name.

Peace,

Leon