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Terrorism & patriotism
Duty and morality
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You’re in an unstable bunker that goes to only the top of your shoulders. You’re in Iraq, a land you have studied yet still feel as unfamiliar with as a never-ending desert. Your drill sergeant is screaming at you to fire at your enemies. You freeze. This was not what you remember signing up for. You came to this foreign land because you wanted to defend yourself and because you love America. When aiming at stationary targets not firing back, you felt in control. You didn’t really think about what you are doing then. Now, though, when looking through your scope at the “enemies”, you cannot differentiate them from you. Army sergeants have attempted to teach you to bypass the moral process of killing, but you are unable to easily do this like many of your comrades. While your hand is still trembling back on forth on your rifle and your sergeant’s screams are getting louder, you start to reflect on what you are doing. Shooting to kill the opposing side would be thought of by most as patriotic and simply the defense of human rights. You are completely in favor of those two. However, the thought of actually taking the life of someone else makes you nauseous. This feeling permeates deeper and deeper inside of you and how you will reach this decision is tearing you apart. Do you listen to your superiors or to your conscience? All of a sudden, it hits you. If you cannot follow yourself and your own ideals, then you stand for nothing. The well-formed conscience should be the final arbiter of your actions because you need to live with what you have done, even if it comes with an extremely negative view from others. Being forced into excessive work duties and treated with hostility by peers is not worse than losing yoursel... ... middle of paper ... ...ision. That shows great determination and self-belief, which not everyone can claim to have when they forget about their own presumptions. Consciences are often ignored when imposing figures stand in the way or consequences seem too daunting. Knowing who you really are, though, is something that should never be taken for granted. Some people might stop reasonably thinking and end up losing themselves. They might never realize that their conscience is being ignored until it is too late. When you’re holding that rifle in Iraq, you might be unable to process your thoughts and will ultimately act hastily. In order to help avoid that impetuousness, it is important to think things through ahead of time. Doing what you believe in, even if unpopular, should take you where you need to be. Money and fame mean nothing if they come at the expense of your individualism.
G.K.Chesterton once quoted, “The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.” The novel Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden, recounts the struggles of a Canadian soldier through his tedious and terrible experiences fighting for his country against the Germans. Throughout the novel, the protagonist was disgusted by the blood and trauma war brings, however, he knew that it was imperative to kill, or else he would not have survived. In war, it is kill or be killed, someone who is wise will kill to survive and protect his country, as well as avenge his family or comrades.
BANG, BOOM, BLAM,TAT-A-TAT, TAT. My ears are assaulted with noise, my eyes witness squirting blood a soldier is shot. I observe soldiers blown away by bombs. I see blood that saturates an infantry man. I view maimed men and observe limbs with fragmented bone. I witness militia dead on the ground. I listen to screams, grunts and gurgling blood in a man's windpipe. WHOOSH, flame throwers make a path with flames blazing burning men instantaneously. My eyes reveal the emotion that rips through my heart, tears drip down my cheek. I turn my head. I cannot watch a soldier cradle his buddy as he dies.
Murder is a reprobate action that is an inevitable part of war. It forces humans into immoral acts, which can manifest in the forms such as shooting or close combat. The life of a soldier is ultimately decided from the killer, whether or not he follows through with his actions. In the short stories The Sniper by Liam O'Flaherty and Just Lather, That's All by Hernando Téllez, the killer must decide the fate of their victims under circumstantial constraints. The two story explore the difference between killing at a close proximity compared to killing at a distance, and how they affect the killer's final decision.
“How nice- to feel nothing, and still get full credit for being alive” (Vonnegut 181).
Imagine finding yourself sitting in a trench that you dug yourself early in the morning so that you could have a place to sleep at night. Imagine being in the freezing cold as rain drops on your face and you have nothing to cover yourself with. Imagine fighting for your life every day for months while trying to avoid booby-traps and so called “enemies” from shooting you down. Imagine standing face to face with someone and the only thing separating the two of you are guns and who ever pulls the trigger first determines who will be able to continue the “game” of survival. Would you be able to pull trigger and live with killing another human being? Imagine coming home having to deal with post-traumatic stress (PTSD) from a war that lasted for
Fussell states, “If you’ve been in combat more than ten minutes, you know that it is about survival, and it’s about killing in order to survive.” While most people have read or seen news reports on war, unless they were in a situation that Fussell just stated, it is impossible to know how it feels to have to kill someone in order to survive; or have the fear that you may be
In the novel All quiet on the western front by Erich Maria Remarque one of the major themes he illustrates is the effects of war on a soldier 's humanity. Paul the protagonist is a German soldier who is forced into war with his comrades that go through dehumanizing violence. War is a very horrid situation that causes soldiers like Paul to lose their innocence by stripping them from happiness and joy in life. The symbols Remarque uses to enhance this theme is Paul 's books and the potato pancakes to depict the great scar war has seared on him taking all his connections to life. Through these symbols they deepen the theme by visually depicting war’s impact on Paul. Paul’s books represent the shadow war that is casted upon Paul and his loss of innocence. This symbol helps the theme by depicting how the war locked his heart to old values by taking his innocence. The last symbol that helps the theme are the potato pancakes. The potato pancakes symbolize love and sacrifice by Paul’s mother that reveal Paul emotional state damaged by the war with his lack of happiness and gratitude.
Without Conscience: Book Report Psychopaths all have something in common, and that's luring unexpected people in their traps. Its part of human nature to wonder and question the unknown. Psychopaths are a clear example of the unknown with their personalities and behaviors that are far from the norm on a continuum. We wonder what makes them do some of the unimaginable and horrific things to people and/or animals.
War has always been an essential ingredient in the development of the human race. As a result of the battles fought in ancient times, up until modern warfare, millions of innocent lives have ended as a result of war crimes committed. In the article, “The My Lai Massacre: A Military Crime of Obedience,” Herbert C. Kelman and V.Lee Hamilton shows examples of moral decisions taken by people involved with war-related murders. This article details one of the worse atrocities committed during the Vietnam War in 1968 by the U.S. military: the My Lai Massacre. Through this incident, the question that really calls for psychological analysis is why so many people are willing to formulate , participate in, and condone policies that call for the mass killings of defenseless civilians such as the atrocities committed during the My Lai massacre. What influences these soldiers by applying different psychological theories that have been developed on human behavior.
Fear in combat can be both a blessing and a curse. Uncontrolled fear can make a soldier ineffective in combat, placing not only that soldier’s life ...
Bullets flying through the air right over me, my knees are shaking, and my feet are numb. I see familiar faces all around me dodging the explosives illuminating the air like lightning. Unfortunately, numerous familiar faces seem to disappear into the trenches. I try to run from the noise, but my mind keeps causing me to re-illustrate the painful memories left behind.
Fighting till the end, when you think there is nothing left and then finding the courage to and inner strength to keep going. Making in impact no matter the odds against you. Faith in those around you and your beliefs. Mastering your fears, for fear is a weakness. Knowing your emotions, they can be a fond ally or black hole.
It can be hard to fully comprehend the effects the Vietnam War had on not just the veterans, but the nation as a whole. The violent battles and acts of war became all too common during the long years of the conflict. The war warped the soldiers and civilians characters and desensitized their mentalities to the cruelty seen on the battlefield. Bao Ninh and Tim O’Brien, both veterans of the war, narrate their experiences of the war and use the loss of love as a metaphor for the detrimental effects of the years of fighting.
War can destroy a man both in body and mind for the rest of his life. In “The Sniper,” Liam O’Flaherty suggests the horror of war not only by presenting its physical dangers, but also by showing its psychological effects. We are left to wonder which has the longer lasting effect—the visible physical scars or the ones on the inside?
Everyone in this world has experienced an ethical dilemma in different situations and this may arise between one or more individuals. Ethical dilemma is a situation where people have to make complex decisions and are influenced based on personal interests, social environment or norms, and religious beliefs (“Strategic Leadership”, n.d.). Leaders and managers in the company should set guidelines to ensure employees are aware and have a better chance to solve and make ethical decisions. Employees are also responsible for understanding their ethical obligations in order to maintain a positive work environment. The purpose of this case study is to identify the dilemma and analyze different decisions to find ways on how a person should act ethically when left with an ethical dilemma.