Picture this. A man wakes up with his body fully-bound to a board and cellophane wrapped around his head. His mind and body tell him he is drowning as the water is thrown in his face over. And over. And over again.

This is a tactic commonly known as “water boarding” that the Bush administration classified as an acceptable means to ‘persuade’ terrorists to release information. Last week, the Obama administration boldly decided to release the memos that give evidence pertaining to how the CIA allowed the torture of potential terrorists. In these investigations, water boarding was the least physically-pressing form of torture.

Obama’s decision to release this information to the public is in the best interest of recreating a nation that its own people can trust. If America really wants change, a great starting point is by removing the barrier between our leaders and our leaders behind closed doors. These horrific acts of torture that strip away all signs of humanity advocate that violence is the most effective way to get an answer. In order to become a more peaceful nation, America must confront the conflicts of the past in order to move towards a more productive future.

American citizens constantly voice their distrust in the government, and Obama confidently takes steps like these to make this fear a thing of the past. By exposing these faults, Obama proves to American citizens that he embraces the fact that he heads a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. People no longer want executive decisions hidden from them. Revealing that this type of violence has taken place is unnerving. What is more disturbing is that in the past this has been both hidden and denied. An administration that covers up horrific secrets like these need to not only be exposed but brought to justice.

It is understandable that government officials both past and present would be wary about publicly exposing these previous actions. Non-supporters like Dick Cheney, who claimed that they supposedly didn’t support these torture methods in the first place, advise that the memos should not be released. They express worry on the premise that terrorists will be able to read into America’s counter-terrorism procedures.

Nonetheless, at no point should a human being be tortured to give the American government information, and because these actions did take place, they need to be brought to the public’s attention. Obama’s choice to release this information is bold, but if it helps to make the real change that is needed in this country, it should be done.

In the end, America stopped listening to Dick Cheney’s advice right around the same time he decided to go quail hunting.