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In the wake of 9/11, we were desperate to bring those responsible for the brutal attacks to justice. But even that urgency did not justify torture. The United States must be held to a higher standard than our enemies, yet some of our actions did not clear that bar.
Dianne Feinstein
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote emphasizes the importance of maintaining moral standards even in times of crisis.

Dianne Feinstein's quote reflects the moral dilemma faced by a nation in the aftermath of a grave attack. It underscores the belief that the United States, as a symbol of justice and integrity, should hold itself to higher ethical standards than its adversaries, despite the overwhelming desire for retribution. The quote serves as a reminder that engaging in acts like torture undermines the very values the nation seeks to defend, suggesting that true justice cannot be built on inhumane actions.

Themes

MoralityJusticeEthicsTorture9/11

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can be used in a political debate about human rights and national security.

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