Daily Inspiration Quote by Peter Singer

Singer’s dry, almost sheepish cadence is doing more work than the literal claim. He’s recounting a familiar post-9/11 ritual: the state invokes “the Geneva Convention” like a talisman, and the listener is expected to relax. Singer refuses the comfort on offer. “Of course I was not reassured” reads as moral common sense, but it’s also a jab at how official legality gets laundered into ethical legitimacy. The line turns on the gap between what can be suspected and what can be demonstrated: “I couldn’t prove… that was wrong.” In that admission sits a critique of asymmetric transparency - governments control the evidence, then demand public trust as if it were a civic duty.

The odd final clause, “so we’re clearer about that,” signals the real intent: epistemic housekeeping. Singer isn’t dramatizing outrage; he’s naming the limits of what he can responsibly claim. That’s a philosopher’s move, but it carries political bite. It implies that the public conversation has been rigged: the bar for alleging abuse is “proof,” while the bar for official assurances is a press release. He’s highlighting how moral accountability can be defeated not by argument, but by secrecy and procedural language.

Context matters: debates over detention regimes and “enhanced” practices often pivoted on compliance theater - citing conventions while quietly redefining who counts as protected. Singer’s skepticism lands because it targets that theater, exposing the difference between being told something is lawful and being shown it is humane.