The Moral Cowardice Of Pat Gray

Here is Pat Gray, the Hobbes to Glenn Beck's Calvin, outlining his position on torture:

BECK: Look, here's the thing: if you're gonna torture somebody. Every single American -- And this includes you, Pat, because I know you're like, “I just don't wanna know about it.”

GRAY: Mhm.

BECK: If you say you're for torture, you have to put yourself in a frame of mind where you could walk into a room where torture is happening and then watch it and walk out -- not necessarily do it -- but watch the whole thing and walk out and put your hand on the shoulder of the guy who did it and say, “Whew. One of the worst experiences of my life just watching you. But thank you, it had to be done.” If you can't see it being done, if you can't-- if you couldn't put yourself in there, then you should never allow yourself to ask somebody else to do it for you. It's like war.

GRAY: That's why I love my position of, uh-- I've never said I'm for torture, because I'm not. I just don't wanna know.

[LAUGHTER]

BECK: Yeah, I know, I know. You just don't wanna know.

GRAY: Just don't tell me about it. I don't wanna know.

BECK: See, that's the bad thing. That's why we get into bed because of people like Mubarak.

Got that? If you're confused, here he is in May of last year, er, “clarifying” his position:

GRAY: Just don't tell me. Don't ask-- I'm in a don't ask, don't tell mode with that.

BECK: Yeah, I don't believe the don't ask, don't tell thing.

GRAY: That's where I've always been on the torture thing. Shut up about it! I don't wanna know.

So if I'm understanding Gray correctly, he doesn't want to be for torture, because torture is obviously immoral. But he doesn't exactly want to be against it either. He'd rather just use feigned ignorance as a cheap substitute for moral purity.