Tag Archives: morality

Do the Right Thing: Bootleg Movies and Deployed Troops

Some have likely read the story of Hyman Strachman, the 92-year-old World War II veteran who has shipped thousands of bootleg copies of movies to the combat AOR:

Hyman Strachman [is] a 92-year-old, 5-foot-5 World War II veteran trying to stay busy after the death of his wife. And he has sent every one of his copied DVDs, almost 4,000 boxes of them to date, free to American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Even Strachman admits the “error” of his ways:  Read more

The Failure of Ethical Training in the US Army

A US Army platoon leader has a fascinating article in Army Magazine: former US Army Captain Kevin Bell wrote How Our Training Fails Us When it Counts, recounting a story from 2008 in which he led a platoon in Afghanistan.  He uses his personal experiences to describe how the US Army woefully fails in its efforts to prepare its soldiers for ethical challenges in combat.

No infantryman who sits through the required PowerPoint classes on the Geneva Conventions and treatment of enemy prisoners of war (EPW) leaves the classroom with a new perspective on the ethics of war…As it stands, though, classroom and field training on detainee operations do almost nothing to help soldiers untangle the twisted moral landscape of anger, intelligence gathering and justice in wartime.

Without directly addressing it, he highlights the weakness of the situation-based ethics currently taught in much of the military academia:  Read more

US Marines in Corpse Desecration Video Accused of Atheism

By now most of the world is probably aware of the accusation that four US Marines urinated on corpses in what is apparently Afghanistan.  One of the group videotaped the event for posterity.

The event brought out a slew of condemnations from all sides:

  • Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta: “This conduct is entirely inappropriate for members of the United States military and does not reflect the standards of values our armed forces are sworn to uphold.”
  • Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos: “wholly inconsistent with the high standards of conduct and warrior ethos.”
  • Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: “It is absolutely inconsistent Read more

Military Can Lead Society on Morals, Ethics

Society has so much lost its moral compass that one General officer says the military can no longer assume its recruits will enlist with an acceptable level of core moral behavior.

General Lord Dannatt, a former head of the British Army, said this about the British society and its military.  He proposes that the military

can teach society about the importance of ethics and morality.

Dannatt says “mental and moral preparation” is as important as physical Read more

Soldiers, Chaplains Try to Keep Empathy and Humanity in War

An official Department of Defense article notes the importance of empathy in war and its relevance to the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan.  In virtually every war in history each side stereotypically demonizes or otherwise dehumanizes its enemy.  Unfortunately, militaries must move past that division after the war is complete — especially when one military is supporting the establishment of their ‘former enemy’s’ government.

In Afghanistan, one soldier had an epiphany that led him to think more deeply about the people he fights:  Read more

Study: Top Cause of PTSD is Moral Guilt

In an era in which society encourages each to do his own thing, and “right” is a relative term, a recent study seems to indicate many people do inherently have an understanding of morality at their core — and this may sometimes conflict with the actions required by military combat:

The conflicts that troops feel can range from survivor guilt from living through an attack where other troops died, to witnessing or participating in the unintentional killing of women or children, said researchers involved in the study.

The key quote comes near the end of the article:  Combat experienced US Marines were the subject group, and the study showed

Their condition [PTSD] was more closely linked to an inner conflict Read more

Canadian Court Rules Against Multiple Marriages

While Canada’s acceptance of homosexuality was occasionally held up as a contrast to their southern cousins in the United States, it seems Canada hasn’t worked out all the moral issues associated with “sexual freedom,” either.

In late November British Columbia’s superior trial court upheld Canada’s law banning polygamy and polyamory.

Interestingly, the court found that such prohibitions did violate the religious liberty of some groups — including some Mormons, Muslims, and Wiccans — but the law Read more

Moral Confusion, Sexual Behavior, and the Redefinition of Rape

Though the trend is arguably decades old, recent court cases and public events have demonstrated the apparent moral (and legal) confusion over sexual behavior in the United States (and elsewhere).  Of course, when right and wrong are decided by the tide of opinion and relativism, it’s not unforeseeable.  As noted below, the US Congress is even trying to redefine “rape” in the military context.

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a denial of a habeas corpus petition by Paul Lowe, a man charged with adult incest with his 22-year-old step-daughter (Lowe v. Stark County Sherriff, No. 09-3942 (6th Cir. Dec. 8, 2011)).  The decision cites a wide variety of cases, some supporting his position and many not.  The court ultimately decided (as have others) there is no fundamental right to sexual conduct, even private behavior between consenting adults.

The court also said Lowe’s complaints the law was “morality-based” were Read more

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