Torture

All across this country, there is torture going on. I know, you say that this is the United States of America. Aside from Guantanamo, we don't allow torture. There is no way there is torture going on. But there is. In strip malls and office buildings, torture is performed every day. I know, because I have fallen victim to this painful reality.

You would not know that such horrible acts were being committed in these locations from the buildings. They are respectable buildings, in good neighborhoods in communities throughout our country. When you walk into the buildings, there is a friendly receptionist waiting to greet you across a waiting room filled with chairs and old magazines. Everyone in these establishments seems friendly and cheerful. The ringleader of pain jokes with you about family, church and 10K races coming up. He seems interested in you as a person. But this man innocent-looking man is planning your torture.

Once you get past the front desk, there is no obvious torture devices. There is just another room with innocent-looking exam chairs that recline back. Once you are seated and comfortable in these chairs, the torture begins. The torture devices are small, seemingly benign pieces of metal. No big deal. How could these things hurt anyone? It is hard to imagine, but when they are combined with tiny rubber bands and a thin wire, they are fully functioning devices of torture. After the metal pieces are glued to your teeth, the wire is attached to them using these tiny rubber bands. The pulling, twisting and aching begins.

The ironic part is, the greatest pain is in the days after you leave this seemingly-innocent establishment. So as you are leaving, you are still a civilized human being, smiling to the receptionist, waiting to pay for the pain inflicted on you, and setting up an appointment to come back for more torture.

What kind of society do we live in where we not only allow torture, but we pay those inflicting us with pain to do so? It seems pretty sick to me.