Ideal democracy can be described as a type of democracy where the people are heard, engaged and protected by the law despite their racial, political, religious and other social backgrounds. It is type of democracy where the citizens form the core part of governance and their voices are considered in many governmental decision at all times, including the times of war. The events that happened to the Japanese after the Executive Order 9066 (Annenberg Classroom, n.d; Densho, n.d), were not a true representation of ideal democracy. Over 120, 000 Japanese-Americans underwent harsh treatment, discrimination and forced relocation for a crime committed by people miles away. The same applies to Guantanamo Bay detainees who have had to undergo years of torture, separation from families and solitude for wrong allegations that they are terrorists or “dangerous” to the United States (Human Rights First, 2017; Public Broadcasting Service, 2010; Murat Kurnaz, 2012; Carol Rosenberg, 2015). The executive orders to have the Japanese incarceration and detention without trial of people in the Guantanamo Bay lack any shreds of an ideal democracy.
Evidence and fair trial are the main pillars of judgment on war crimes in an Ideal Democracy. The incarceration of the Japanese-Americans in the wake of the Pearl Harbor attack and the detention without trial of perceived terrorists is unconstitutional and against human rights. As it is the case with Herbert Richardson in Just Mercy, there is a possibility that many people who were held in Guantanamo Bay are not guilty of the crimes they are alleged to have committed. They also may have had previous engagements in war that might have left them in need of medical and psychological help (Stevenson, 2015). To detain such people and then execute without fair trial is not ideal in a nation that values democracy.
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The United States of America may have gone overboard in its response to the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the whole idea of terrorism. The incarceration of all the Americans of Japanese descent, including children, was a violation of human rights. Similarly, the detention without trial of people perceived to be dangerous to the US in Guantanamo Bay is a disregard to the principles of democracy.
References
Annenberg Classroom, (Producer)(n.d). Korematsu and Civil Liberties . ( Video file). Retrieved Feb 6, 2017 from: http://www.annenbergclassroom.org/page/korematsu-civil-liberties%E2%80%9D
Carol Rosenberg. (2015). Guantánamo parole board clears another ‘forever prisoner.’ Miami Herald. Retrieved Feb 6, 2017 from: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/guantanamo/article15280844.html
Densho. (n.d). Japanese American WWII Incarceration: The Core Story. Retrieved Feb 6, 2017 from: http://www.densho.org/core-story/
Human Rights First. (2017). Guantanamo by the Numbers. Retrieved Feb 6, 2017 from: http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/resource/guantanamo-numbers
Murat Kurnaz. (2012). Notes From a Guantánamo Survivor. The New York Times. Retrieved Feb 6, 2017 from: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/08/opinion/sunday/notes-from-a-guantanamo-survivor.html?_r=0
Public Broadcasting Service. (2010). Guantanamo Justice? Retrieved Feb 6, 2017 from: http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/331/index.html
Stevenson, B. (2015). The Old Rugged Cross. Just mercy: A story of justice and redemption . Spiegel & Grau. Print
