Torture is a controversial topic in today's society. What is torture? Torture can be defined as "the act of inflicting excruciating pain, as punishment or revenge, as a means of obtaining a confession or information, or out of sheer cruelty." (Dershowitz, A) Under international law, it is illegal to use torture in any situation of any kind. While torture undoubtedly continues throughout the world, the moral argument prohibiting it should or could be justified. However, the issue of torture resurfaced in the context of the “There is a winding road to justice” project, which focused mainly on the September 11 attacks. Apparently, the topic of torture has become more challenging after millions of lives have been lost and threatened following the attacks on the United States. The torture dilemma is commonly expressed in reference to the "time bomb terrorist" problem. In this essay I will argue that torture is inconsistently conflicting as a moral and immoral belief. Many people argue that torture is immorally wrong and see it as a malicious form of punishment, but on the other hand, a soldier fighting in war may see it as a justifiable action to protect himself, other citizens, and the country. However, if torture is so immoral, why is the topic so difficult to explain? Within the social order society, many people would say that torture is a shameful action for those who support it and/or participate in the agony. This may be valid, but this argument could be compared to other criminal scenarios. For example, a person who commits a crime such as stealing a car and hurting someone or harming a person with the intent to kill, in this society these actions could be seen as immoral actions. During criminal punishment, they might… middle of paper… but it can be seen as an action of willpower learned to protect. Torturing a person in other words is seen as unconstitutional, but to understand why it is somewhat problematic, just imagine being in the position of a torturer and torturing, both situations are understandable and difficult to deal with from a citizen's point of view. Mitigating the position on torture becomes somewhat impossible, especially for those carrying out the action and/or those making the laws and passing them. Justifying this action is undoubtedly difficult to distinguish between moral or immoral actions. In this situation, as mentioned before, it seems that the lives of millions of individuals compensate for an individual life. Works Cited Hinman, Lawrence M.. Contemporary Moral Issues: Diversity and Consensus. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005. Print.