Mark Bowden says that soldiers involved in the photos at Abu Ghraib should "feel ashamed, as should our military and our nation". He's talking about the abuses and he's right, we should feel shame.
But, what about feeling shame simply because so much of what was in those photographs was sexually depraved? I wonder if many of the soldiers feel shame for that because shame is one thing that too many Americans no longer feel or even comprehend.
Not all the photos depicted Iraqis being abused or even their involvement. Some of the pictures were of the soldiers having sex amongst themselves in front of others, including Iraqi prisoners. If they were willing to do that, is it any wonder they thought it was all right to arrange their prisoners in vile poses or force them to perform sexual acts against their will?
We've created a society saturated with sex. Pornography is everywhere and it is far more celebrated than denounced.
The development of digital technology has not just made pornography more freely available, but seems to have encouraged a whole swathe of the populace into becoming pornographers. And, of course, since nothing is shameful, taking pictures isn't enough. They must be disseminated as well.
Of course, it's not simply an American phenomenon. Britain is hardly any different and may actually be worse. Ireland, despite its label as "Catholic" or its past image is nearly the same. Mid-morning discussions of "dogging" (if you don't know, don't worry about it) on our tax-funded national radio station are indicative of the scale of the problem and a disgrace.
Discretion, privacy, shame. Yesterday's ideas, apparently.
