Some thoughts on my pilgrimage to the US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

My faith teaches that all human life is sacred, including the lives of the people held in prison. My faith teaches that it is wrong to torture people; it is wrong to treat people in cruel, inhuman, and degrading ways. Yet our government tortures people. More, lies and torture have become part of the US political life: they have become normal, acceptable, part of the air we breathe.

We hear, "It's just sleep deprivation, it's just temperature adjustment, it's just forcing someone to stay in the same position for hours, it's just noise they have to listen to, it's just the illusion of drowning on the waterboard." The distance from these examples to drilling holes in a prisoner's head or beating them until they die is no distance at all. And amid the lies, the wars of aggression, and the poverty around us, we aren't even surprised when we hear of another allegation of torture on the news.

What can we do when our government's crimes keep us up at night? When we hear the cries of the prisoners who are being tortured? What would I have done if I had lived in Germany during WW II?

At the very least, we should speak out and say NO to our government's criminal behavior. If I don't say no, if I don't find a way to speak, I'm morally complicit.

Some people sing, some write, some give speeches, some lobby, some teach. I find that I need to withdraw my compliance by going to the site, by trying to block the work, by trying to symbolically and in a real way stop the criminal activities.

As we thought about what was happening at Guantanamo, we felt moved to go there, and visit the prisoners. We felt moved to go there and say "Close this interrogation center." "Let these prisoners free." "At least, treat the prisoners according to the Geneva conventions." If Guantanamo Naval station were here in the States, we would be at the gates. Many people might ask, "What good does that do? Who does it help?" My answer is that the evil around us is growing, and in response, we try to do what is good and faithful. We try to walk as our conscience leads us, and my conscience leads me on a walk from Santiago, Cuba to the US Naval Station.

When I have been in prison for peace actions, I have experienced the encouragement that comes to all the prisoners when people gather outside the prison in prayer and solidarity. And so we want the prisoners in Guantanamo Bay Naval Station to feel that encouragement. We want them to know that people in the United States care about them. We want them to know that the consensus is not unanimous! We hope to be able to speak to the prisoners and bring letters from them to mail to their loved ones. We hope to talk to the soldiers there and remind them that the way to peace doesn't involve torture and degradation.