During the Vietnam War, a unit of American Army soldiers invaded My Lai a South Vietnamese hamlet resources contended was the enemy Viet Cong stronghold. That day in May 1968 an estimated 347 unarmed civilians “including women and children” died as a result (Cantrell, 2007). My Lai became one of the most controversial situations of the long Viet Nam War. When the truth came out due to letters to the government describing the horror, two questions resulted. Understanding why some of the young American soldiers that day killed so many innocent civilians and why did so few in the unit try to save the lives of as many as they could require moral clarity. Though obedience to authority has hurts and killed innocent people, but lack of moral clarity is the crux of what happened in My Lai, Vietnam in 1968.
Americans want moral clarity. Moral clarity is often more of a testament to the idea than a living reality. In the case of the My Lai incident, America faced a moral dilemma in trying to understand what went wrong, why it happened. Testimonies during the trial that ensued of those who participated in the massacre induce more questions than provide answers. “Beyond parading our moral presumptions, we come to believe we act more morally the less we think about it”, says Cotkin (2010, pp 1).” Kendrick, (2006) offers, “Nearly forty years on, however, the status of the massacre as historical pivot is unclear, not so much because it is explicitly contested, but because its memory is muted” (Kendrick, pp 37). Ending a war, keeping America free assumes these are moral actions, but what is acted upon to achieve this in the face of what is moral then becomes “problematic”. Accepting there is an inherent difficulty in acting morally ...
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...y’s Muddy Waters: Ethical Quandaries in Modern America.
Dougherty, William Frederic. Testimony of SP 4 William F. Doherty,
RA 11 620 737, Co B, 2d Bn, 41st Inf, Fort Hood, Texas, taken at Office of
Inspector General, I11 Corps, Fort Hood, Texas, at to 1422 hours on
5 May 1969, by Colonel Wilson, I G http://www.virtual.vietnam.ttu.edu/cgi-
Milgram, Stanley. “The Perils of Obedience.” Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum.11th Ed. Laurence Behrens and Leonard J. Rosen. Boston: Longman-Pearson, 2011. 692-704 . Print.
Oliver, Kendrick. Coming to Terms with the Past: My Lai Kendrick Oliver Revisits the Scene of an Infamous Massacre That Became a Watershed in Public Perceptions of the Vietnam War, and Asks What It Means to America, Almost Forty Years On. History Today. COPYRIGHT. History Today Ltd. COPYRIGHT 2006 Gale Group. 2006, February. 36(2); pp 37
The Vietnam War: A Concise International History is a strong book that portrays a vivid picture of both sides of the war. By getting access to new information and using valid sources, Lawrence’s study deserves credibility. After reading this book, a new light and understanding of the Vietnam war exists.
Laws exist to protect life and property; however, they are only as effective as the forces that uphold them. War is a void that exists beyond the grasps of any law enforcing agency and It exemplifies humankind's most desperate situation. It is an ethical wilderness exempt from civilized practices. In all respects, war is a primitive extension of man. Caputo describes the ethical wilderness of Vietnam as a place "lacking restraints, sanctioned to kill, confronted by a hostile country and a relentless enemy, we sank into a brutish state." Without boundaries, there is only a biological moral c...
Another atrocity that occurred during this war was the My Lai Massacre. This was the mass murder of unarmed civilians in South Vietnam during March 16, 1968. Around November 1969, the world saw this and was outraged with the killings of innocent civilians prompting and giving the public more reasons to stop the war. Although the war was very unpopular, men and women were still fighting and dying for America. Heroes such as Captain John W, Ripley of Dong Ha, Medal of Honor recipients, and overall troops that gave the ultimate sacrifice were forgotten for a brief period.
Parker, Ian. “Obedience.” Writing and Reading for ACP Composition. Ed. Thomas E. Leahey and Christine R. Farris. New Jersey: Pearson Custom Publishing, 2009. 230-240. Print.
Milgram, Stanley. “The Perils of Obedience.” Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum. Eds. Laurence Behrens and Leonard J. Rosen. Boston: Longman, 2011. 692-704.
Vietnam was a highly debated war among citizens of the United States. This war was like no other with regards to how it affected people on the home front. In past war’s, the population of the United States mainly supported the war and admired soldiers for their courage. During the Vietnam War, citizens of the U.S. had a contradictory view than in the past. This dilemma of not having the support of the people originates from the culture and the time period.
the guards began mistreating the prisoners, not physically, but emotionally and psychologically, taking advantage of the power and authority appointed to them by the experimenter (Zimbardo 109). Crimes of obedience and mistreatment to other human beings are not only found in Milgrim’s and Zimbardo’s experiments. In 1968, U.S. troops massacred over 500 villagers in My Lai. The incident is described by social psychologist Herbert C. Kelman and sociologist V. Lee Hamilton in the article “The My Lai Massacre: a Crime of Obedience.” Lt. William Calley, charged with 102 killings, claims to have followed orders from his superiors, only accomplishing his duty, which is also a theme throughout the movie, A Few Good Men. After presented with a request from William Santiago, a marine on his base, to be transferred, Jessup refuses. The film depicts, through Colonel Jessup 's authority, the refusal to obey a reasonable request as well as the pride one possesses when fulfilling his duty
Part of this assignment is to describe my impressions of the Vietnam War and its impact on the men who fought it. This is a very difficult task. No matter how many articles and stories I read, I will never truly understand the pain and anguish these men have endured. I can’t even begin to imagine how hard it would be to endure 2 months of being tied in the most awkward body-stretching position possible. Sure, like anyone I believe that the U.S. government got into an unwinnable war, but the bureaucrats were in a tough political position and they felt this was essential. No matter the case, it is ridiculous how American citizens displayed open dishonor and disgrace to both fallen and returning soldiers. These men went through the worst imaginable experience and they were slapped in the face and spit in the nose when they returned. They went through those circumstances because the government they were loyal to put them in that position.
Milgram, Stanley. “Perils of Obedience.” Writing and Reading for ACP Composition, compiled by Christine R. Farris and Deanna M. Jessup, Pearson, 2013, pp. 77-89. Originally published in Obedience to Authority,
Miner, B. (1998). When reading good books can get schools in trouble. An Urban Educational Journal, 12, 1-10
Milgram, Stanley. “The Perils of Obedience.” From Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum. Tenth edition. Edited by Laurence Behrens and Leonard J. Rosen. New York: Longman Publishers, pp.358-371, 2008.
The political and societal ramifications of Vietnam's Tet Offensive indubitably illustrate the historical oddity of 1968. 1967 had not been a bad year for most Americans. Four years after the profound panic evoked by the assassination of John Kennedy, the general public seemed to be gaining a restored optimism, and even the regularly protested Vietnam War still possessed the semblance of success (Farber and Bailey 34-54). However, three short weeks following the eve of 68, Americans abruptly obtained a radically different outlook. The Tet Offensive, beginning on January 30, 1968, consisted of a series of military incursions during the Vietnam War, coordinated between the National Liberation Front's People's Liberation Armed Forces (PLAF), or "Viet Cong," and the ...
Perrault, Charles. “Cinderella.” Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum. Ed. Laurence Behrens, Leonard J. Rosen. Toronto: Longman, 2013. 236-240. Print.
As we got further and further into the Vietnam War, few lives were untouched by grief, anger and fear. The Vietnamese suffered the worst hardship; children lay dead in the street, villages remained nothing but charred ashes, and bombs destroyed thousands of innocent civilians. Soldiers were scarred emotionally as well as physically, as
The human mind is always changing. It has been known that change is inevitable, but what if there was something forcing this change? Society’s struggles are becoming more challenging, forcing the human mind to focus on one thing: obedience. Obedience merges a group together, all believing in or participating in one idea. This is very evident as the soldiers in A Few Good Men all have the same agenda to follow orders, regardless of what that order may be-that is their code. However, this obedience prohibits individuals to participate in their own unique actions and thoughts. If people can’t think for themselves, then the obedience to the higher power is what drives human minds to change in a similar way. As today’s terrorist attacks and wars