Not What I Remember

When I was young, I was of course told how we run our country, how America works. The two things that told me then that I was living in a just and beautiful country my two favorite rules were:

1. We don't Torture people
and
2. We don't negotiate with terrorists

The first showed our justice, that we will not torture people to get what we want, that we are human, and that every human has rights.
The second, at the time I suppose, showed that we have honor, and we stand by that honor and by our conviction and never back down, no matter what.

But now, we've changed one of those rules, and I don't know if we've changed the right one...