Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος

"Individuals might forfeit their life and liberty as punishment for breaking laws, but even then, as recognized in our Constitution's prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment, they are still entitled to respect for their basic human dignity, even if they have denied that respect to others.

"I do not mourn the loss of any terrorist's life [...] What I do mourn is what we lose when by official policy or official neglect we allow, confuse, or encourage those who fight this war for us to forget that best sense of ourselves, that which is our greatest strength; that when we fight to defend our security, we also fight for an idea, not a tribe, not a land, not a king, not a twisted interpretation of an ancient religion, but for an idea that all men are endowed by their Creator with inalienable rights.

"It is indispensable to our success in this war that those we ask to fight it know that in the discharge of their dangerous responsibilities to our country, they are never expected to forget they are Americans and the valiant defenders of a sacred idea of how nations should be governed and conduct their relations with others--even our enemies."

U.S. Senator John McCain , R-AZ (b. 1936-08-29), on the floor of the Sentate 2011-05-12: [ video (22.5 minutes)], [ text (281 lines)]

A different passage quoted from this sermon ah, speech, has been making the rounds since the day he gave it. There's more worth quoting -- worth heeding -- in there than just these bits, however much cognitive dissonance some of us get from agreeing with McCain on something important.