Even if I do say so myself, it is nice to know that this blog is read in high places (by which I do not mean behind the bike sheds at Eton). No sooner do I make a point about the depiction of torture in 24, than The Independent reports that Brigadier General Patrick Finnegan of the United States Military Academy at West Point has hopped on a plane to Hollywood to complain to Fox about the effect the show was having on troops in Iraq and on America's image abroad.
Says Gen. Finnegan:
"I'd like them to stop. They should do a show where torture backfires... The kids see it and say, 'If torture is wrong, what about 24'?
"The disturbing thing is that although torture may cause Jack Bauer some angst, it is always the patriotic thing to do."
While I would quibble with the last point (torture never causes Jack any angst because it is the 'patriotic thing to do'), it is nice to know that I am not a hyper-sensitive politically correct loon, and the powers that be do take these things seriously.
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