A No-Brainer
I am encouraged by this news from an Army sergeant who doesn't want to go back to Iraq. I am happy to know that some people are able to think for themselves and make extremely difficult, personal decisions despite years of military indoctrination. It seems like a no-brainer to me but I am continually surprised by how infrequently most people question things. Especially in the military. I know that soldiers aren't always known for their ability to think critically, when you follow orders you don't have that luxury unless you want to be miserable, but it seems like everyone should have that thing inside that tells them when something doesn't feel right. How can shooting or bombing anyone ever feel like the right thing to do, especially when they didn't do anything directly to us in the first place? duh. That's obviously a rhetorical question.Anyway, I will be following this story closely. All my support and good wishes go to the Benderman's.
posted by Anita at
1:07 PM
4 comment(s):
Thank you for the words of encouragement!
By
Anonymous, at
6:29 PM
The men I know ARE critical thinkers. That's their job. The heighten thought and physical prowess that they exhibit go hand in hand. Being in the military doesn't mean that your a mindless drone, willing to throw a grenade at another human. It means being a leader with some capacity to distinguish wrong and right. It means that your physical ability is greater than the ordinary man, hence, your mind is more intune with your natural surroundings. These men are put in situations that civilians can't fathom. It requires a different mentality. Again, this doesn't mean that they are mindless drones, just have a different set of thought processes. Under military code, any order that is an immoral order may be questioned and disobeyed, regardless of rank.
Not towards you but just to spew, I hate the individuals who say that soldiers are fighting for "our freedom" and "to keep US safe". That doesn't apply to Iraq, and why they use it I don't know.
Now, the soldiers are right when they say the horrors of war are wrong. As humans and Americans they have that right to seize and desist. When you sign your name on those enlistment papers, agree/disagree doesn't matter, you're GI (Government Issue). Though I may agree with their decision, I must also say that every decision that they made, even by one man, weakened a unit. Every choice has a consequence. Joining the military means that you are part of an aggresive machine, an instrument of mass destruction and the ultimate political tool, or at least that's what Clausweitz says about politics. "War is politics by other means." It's kind of a grey area for me.
By
Anonymous, at
4:02 PM
I've re-read my comment and it sounded kind of harsh and rude. I wanted to apologize.
By
Anonymous, at
3:22 PM
Thank you, Anonymous. I welcome your comments and I didn't really think it was rude at all. We all have different experiences and different perspectives. That was mine and I'm glad you shared yours. As long as you don't insult me or get hateful, we'll get along fine.
Thanks for reading and commenting!
By
Anita, at
12:41 PM
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