How to put this without seeming arrogant....
EEE
location: Landscape Challenged Illinois
listening to: 16 Horsepower, black music from the 70's & and still going broke from Paste Magazine
registered: 2002.08.26
posts: 3227
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When I was in the US Army there were many people who were easily malleable into many things. For those of us who are fortunate to have the means to learn of higher things and ideals, we have an obligation to be our fellow person's keeper. To mold these people into doing things we know are not right is unconscionable. Many of the soldiers in the pictures from Abu Ghraib were persuaded by many people to participate in things they would not normally have done so. Imagine their indoctrination. Remember after 9/11 how the pro-war crowd sold our enemies to the US. People in the Middle East were described as monsters and were told to be dealt with in the most harshest of terms. Remember our "enemies" were told to be Iraqis and were less than animals. And then these people were led to believe they had carte blanche to do whatever and would be covered by what their Commander in Chief authorized them to do. Take the one Southern soldier holding the Iraqi with the dog leash. Imagine a man of the shadows telling her, "We need you to parade this man around with a dog leash on. He won't be hurt, but it will make him talk and tell us what we need to know and give us information that will save American lives." Imagine her being told she is saving America in comic book terms and beliefs. Imagine her being told these people are the ones that attacked us. Those of us who know better have an obligation not to do this. We have an obligation not to create people to act as our tools. We have an obligation to guide them and have the integrity not to take advantage of them. Read some of the articles involving Errol Morris and his film on this subject. But don't get me wrong - I know there are sick people out there that enjoyed this behavior and who would probably do it again. And I offer no excuse whatsoever for them.
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EEE
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When I was in the US Army there were many people who were easily malleable into many things. For those of us who are fortunate to have the means to learn of higher things and ideals, we have an obligation to be our fellow person's keeper. To mold these people into doing things we know are not right is unconscionable. Many of the soldiers in the pictures from Abu Ghraib were persuaded by many people to participate in things they would not normally have done so. Imagine their indoctrination. Remember after 9/11 how the pro-war crowd sold our enemies to the US. People in the Middle East were described as monsters and were told to be dealt with in the most harshest of terms. Remember our "enemies" were told to be Iraqis and were less than animals. And then these people were led to believe they had carte blanche to do whatever and would be covered by what their Commander in Chief authorized them to do. Take the one Southern soldier holding the Iraqi with the dog leash. Imagine a man of the shadows telling her, "We need you to parade this man around with a dog leash on. He won't be hurt, but it will make him talk and tell us what we need to know and give us information that will save American lives." Imagine her being told she is saving America in comic book terms and beliefs. Imagine her being told these people are the ones that attacked us. Those of us who know better have an obligation not to do this. We have an obligation not to create people to act as our tools. We have an obligation to guide them and have the integrity not to take advantage of them. Read some of the articles involving Errol Morris and his film on this subject. But don't get me wrong - I know there are sick people out there that enjoyed this behavior and who would probably do it again. And I offer no excuse whatsoever for them.
