Beheadings, kidnappings, more stories of American soldiers sexually abusing prisoners at Cuban and Iraqi prisons. The human rights we Americans value so highly are getting lost in the brutality of war. While we justifiably condemn the horrifying treatment of hostages, assassinations of friendly Iraqis, and maiming and killing of American troops, we need to take a hard look at our own human rights record as well. Because the large gap between what we preach and what we do demeans us and enables others less committed to human dignity to rationalize their own savagery.

In this environment, it is even more important for American political leaders to demonstrate the respect for other people that we so proudly tout to the rest of the world. Let's start with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, who signed off on using sexual humiliation of prisoners in Cuba as an interrogation technique, then later reversed himself. But the damage was done. It was OK, according to the Pentagon's chief executive-someone who should have known better, who should have provided a stellar, not a depraved, example of civilized behavior in wartime-to sexually mistreat prisoners. So, it continued, and, in many cases, was excused, with the victims being blamed and the perpetrators going unpunished. What an example that set for the rest of the world.

Politicians need to understand what powerful messages they deliver about American values and how to live them, whether they are making policy abroad or commenting on events at home. Take, for example, Colorado Senate President John Andrews' recent pronouncement on Colorado Public Television regarding the sex and alcohol scandal surrounding the CU football team. "We live in a degraded and hypocritical time when careless sexual promiscuity can be retroactively labeled as date rape," he said. "The overblown CU scandal simply reflected that."

Rather than decrying the sorry failure of character and leadership, not to mention respect for the rights of others, at our flagship university, Senator Andrews blames the victims and exonerates the perpetrators of violent crimes. Whether it is sexual humiliation of prisoners in Cuba and Iraq or sexual attacks on women at the University of Colorado, violations of human rights should always be unacceptable in our society. And our political leaders must be at the forefront of underscoring that critical value.

How different the reactions of Senator Andrews and Colorado's U.S. Senator Wayne Allard, who has gone after the abuse of women at the Air Force Academy. While mistreatment of women continues in the Armed Forces, it is finally becoming clear to military officials that one of our political leaders intends to shut down the abuse and to force the military to make its own internal commitment to human decency. That is the message we need to send to the rest of the world.

Respect for other people is not determined by ethnicity, gender, or religion. It is a core value of our society. We tell the rest of the world that when we talk about human rights. Disrespect and abuse is not part of a civilized society. Without respect for others, even in wartime, even in prison, we cannot call ourselves a civilized society. Nor can we successfully demand that our soldiers be treated in a civilized manner by our enemies. As we've seen with great horror, when we don't exemplify our own principles, our enemies use that as an excuse to treat our own with appalling savagery.

It is time to say clearly that demeaning one group degrades us all. We need to state firmly that violence and humiliation are not acceptable in our society. Our political leaders must realize that when they condone or trivialize human rights abuses, they send a loud message that we don't really believe in our own stated ideals.

What our political leaders say matters greatly. Their comments, whether respectful or demeaning, are broadcast widely. They set a tone for behavior and create an atmosphere in which people make decisions about what is appropriate conduct. We must demand that what they say and do makes us proud to be Americans.