[lit-ideas] Re: Too painful to talk about?
- From: John Wager <john.wager1@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 15 Feb 2006 05:57:11 -0600
Lawrence Helm wrote:
When I was in boot camp, some boot went AWOL and committed some
crime. I can't recall what it was, but something very serious like
murder or rape. All the boots at MCRD were assembled and we had to
stand at attention and witness the ceremony of this fellow in
full-dress uniform having all his brass buttons cut off. There was
some drumming also, slow beat, as he was marched off the field in
disgrace. There are always some who will engage in heinous acts, but
in the Marine Corps as well as the other branches of the American
armed services, such behavior is not condoned. When it is discovered
it is punished.
Aye, there's the rub! "When it's discovered."
When I was in Basic Training, I got my only "real" lesson in military
ethics from our platoon training sergeant. A trainee asked the "dumb"
question "Can I go to the snack bar?" (The snack bar was strictly off
limits to trainees; NO trainee ever went to the snack bar.) The Drill
Sergeant said "Sure you can go to the snack bar!" We were all astounded.
Later, when the trainee returned munching his hamburger, the Drill
Sergeant began yelling at the trainee and inducing a round of 50
push-ups. Further, the trainee was told that he would not be going on
our first week-end pass, that he would be restricted to the company area
all week-end. "But you said I could go!" the trainee said. The Drill
Sergeant replied "Of course you can go to the snack bar any time you
want! I'm not punishing you for going to the snack bar; I'm punishing
you for getting caught going to the snack bar."
That was my real training in military ethics. It would be astounding if
this were not still true to a degree today. I'm also reminded of
"midnight requisitioning," something I HOPE U.S. forces still do--You do
what you have to to keep YOUR unit operating even if it's at the expense
of another unit. NONE of these things are particularly conducive to a
genuine "moral" code.
To imply that heinous behavior is normative in the American armed
forces is of course a lie. There are some who make such an
implication, but they lie. It isn't normative.
I agree with you 100% here. We ARE better than the Islamists, by a
large margin. We ARE worried by the actions of our troops, and we DO
want to discover where they are engaging in such abuse because such
abuse does NOT make the U.S. more secure. But there are two internal
opposing forces in the military, "official" policy and unofficial
practice, and right now it looks to me like the "unofficial" needs of
the troops seems to have taken the upper hand.
When the average sergeant sees the mood of the country as "Do what you
can get away with," it's sometimes tempting to follow suite.
The only forces whose targeting of children is normative are the
paramilitary organizations called Terrorists, Islamists, Militant
Islamists, Radical Islamists, Fundamentalist Islamists. They target
civilians including children as acts of terror. And after they
commit their acts of terror there is no stripping of buttons, no
drumming, and no disgrace. They are considered great heroes it they
survive and martyrs worthy of heaven if they don't. It is not too
painful to talk of what is normative for are military and what is
normative for theirs. We should do more of it.
--
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"Never attribute to malice that which can be
explained by incompetence and ignorance."
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John Wager john.wager1@xxxxxxxxxxx
Lisle, IL, USA
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