According to multiple news sources, including Fox News, the execution of Nidal Hasan, the perpetrator of the Fort Hood massacre, will be live-streamed on Dec. 3.
Mr. Hasan’s crimes were horrific and warrant punishment. While I deeply sympathize with the victims and their families, I believe that broadcasting his execution to the public would further diminish our nation’s moral standing. Public executions are associated with authoritarian, disreputable regimes and countries whose human rights records are often condemned. The United States should strive to uphold a higher standard.
No nation is perfect, but America has long been admired for principles such as democracy, individual liberty, decency, and respect for human rights. For generations, these ideals served as a beacon to millions of people around the world who sought freedom and opportunity.
President Donald Trump has systematically weakened many of these traditions and values. Long-standing allies have frequently been criticized, threatened, or made to feel less safe and secure in their relationships with the United States. At the same time, leaders such as Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, and Xi Jinping have often received favorable treatment or praise from the president.
Now, with the prospect of a publicly live-streamed execution, President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appear poised to take another step that I believe undermines America’s dignity and reputation. Rather than demonstrating our ideals, such a spectacle risks associating our nation with practices that many people view as barbaric and inconsistent with our highest values.
If you believe that America should continue to be guided by the values of decency, freedom, and respect for human dignity, I urge you to vote this November, not simply as a Democrat or a Republican, but for America, a country committed to preserving the principles that once made this nation a model for the world.
Conor Power
Montague