Part I
1.
It seems like the more a person goes to church, the more they accept the idea of torture (Thistlethwaite, 2009).When looking at the Savior, Jesus, this is a religious figure demonstrating the virtue of forgiveness. Jesus did not condone violence even when Peter was arrested. Yet, how does the church allow such violence in approving of torture? Remmel’s “Personality and Politics” describes personality as involving “the investigation of individual differences, both differences across individuals and the manifestation of those differences within individuals. Certainly, such an approach holds a great deal of interest for political scientists studying the beliefs and behaviors of individuals” (Remmel, 2016). When looking at the politics of torture, it means that certain efforts must be made to acquire something important, like information.
The article on torture notes that white evangelical Protestants are the most likely to accept torture for the overall ‘good’. They believe suspected ‘terrorists’ should be handled accordingly in such a way that would maintain the safety of those affected. The definition given for torture is: “any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person” (Thistlethwaite, 2009). When Jesus Christ died for the sins of humanity, Jesus did so while enduring excruciating pain. This torture was justified in that, it was done to save humankind from Original Sin.
Therefore, to be a Christian is to suffer. Why would a terrorist escape this ‘extreme suffering’ in the eyes of some Christians? Henceforth, it makes sense that people according to their personalities and how they were raised, believe torture is part of life and torture can be used on those...
It may seem cruel to many, but that is how they were taught according to their beliefs.
2.
Denial is a complex process that involves the removal of one or more components. “…when individuals deny the emotional component of an experience- for example, the fear, pain, and anger of childhood punishment- the meaning of the concept abuse is lost, and the person has great difficulty accepting or understanding information relating to such abuse” (Milburn, Conrad, & Milburn, 1998, p. 40). During the Trump Administration, many of his supporters are in denial of what is happening thanks to the new changes implemented by this administration. For example, the separation of families to detract illegal immigration and the support of Trump fans for this action shows the level of denial supporters have for the suffering of this specific population.
The supporters remove the emotional component and simply peg the parents of the illegal children as criminals that deserve such punishment for illegally crossing the border. They cease seeing illegals or asylum seekers as people, and instead, see them as deserving of such policy changes. “Such emotionally based policies can interfere with our capacity to effectively and humanely confront many problems our nation faces. The lessons of affect displacement go beyond childhood experiences of punishment” (Milburn & Conrad, 2016, p. xxiii). When there is a lack of empathy for specific groups because it feels like it is emotionally acceptable to act this way, many then go on to continue or worse their lack of empathy.
The United States is undergoing a shift towards ideals set forth by the Trump Administration. Emotionally, people have begun manifesting apathy and ignorance towards…
