Obedience: Submit or Defy

By definition, obedience is “dutiful or submissive compliance” according to dictionary.com. Not only that though, but the first example of the word obedience on this site appeared in a sentence pertaining to military service. There is so much more to obedience though. I believe obedience does not relate solely to the aspect of submitting but to the grey areas that surround as well. Submit, defy, the authority itself, and the consequences that follow obedience are not always read between the lines of the exact definition. Maybe it should display the following definition: obedience is the act of giving in to an authoritative command that may not always reap joyful or beneficial consequences. Military commands sometimes consist of dropping bombs on cities containing civilians, assassinating enemy soldiers, and fighting over seas away from their families. I believe it is important to know that obeying and trusting authority does not always mean success or a desired outcome. Obedience is a key factor in the movie A Few Good Men, which displays many characters under military command. Rob Reiner presents Lt. Colonel Markinson as powerless based on situational influences.

A Few Good Men is an intense film showing the military system through an investigation into private first class Santiago’s death. Lt. Kaffee, a lawyer and son of an honored military lawyer, is requested to defend two Marines being accused of the murder of PFC Santiago even though they were simply following their orders to perform a “Code Red”. In the movie, Santiago was a misfit Marine that needed to learn a lesson according to Col. Jessep. Jessep, the Colonel in command at the Cuban base and was the one who ordered the Code Red, goes through great lengths to cover u...

... middle of paper ...

...knowledge and courage to do what is right for others and for our own conscience. In the world today, there are so many instances where people have the opportunity to avoid responsibility for their actions, and it must be changed or as Fromm has predicted, our society will end by obedience to powers of which we are unsure and therefore “commit suicide”.

Works Cited

A Few Good Men. Dir. Rob Reiner. Perf. Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, and Demi Moore. Colombia Pictures, 1992. Film.

Fromm, Erich. “Disobedience as a Psychological and Moral Problem.” Writing and Reading for ACP Composition. Ed. Thomas E. Leahey and Christine R. Farris. New York, New York. Pearson, 2009. 212-224. Print.

Milgram, Stanley. “The Perils of Obedience.” Writing and Reading for ACP Composition. Ed. Thomas E. Leahey and Christine R. Farris. New York, New York. Pearson, 2009.258-263. Print.