A Few Good Men
In the movie A Few Good Man, two USA marines (are charged because of murdering their fellow marine William Santiago. William wrote many letters to his boss commander colonel Jessup to release him because he was not treated well, but he was not release until Dawson and Downey killed him. The two marines defended themselves by saying
This movie covers many aspects of life that happens every day in many places. Like many other people the two marines, commander Jessup and lieutenant Kendrick refuses to accept the responsibility of their mistakes. The fact is that we all know that Command Jessup ordered Kendrick to order the marines to punish William by giving him a cold red as part of training him. Instead of refusing the marines
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One of the reading it relates to is the reading of Aristotle. Aristotle said human beings act the way they act because they don’t like pain and shame but love pleasure; some love virtue and some evil. We see the two Marines they committed the crime by killing their fellow marines but they don’t want to be punished because they want to avoid pain and shame. One of the marine Dawson refused to go back home for six months because he did not want to be dishonored and be discharged as a marine. To him he was following an order and he did nothing wrong. Similarly, what commander Jessup and lieutenant Kendrick cares is pleasures and glory. They want to receive all the respect and being feared by people. They do not want the death of Santiago to bring them shame and ruin their reputation. When kaffe asked for document from commander Jessup, he commanded him to ask him very nicely in other words he wanted to be respected. This is exactly what Aristotle said In his Nicomachean ethics book 10. Aristotle said “for the many naturally obey fear, not shame; they avoided what is base because of the penalties, not because it is disgraceful. For since they live by their feelings, they pursue their proper pleasures and the source of them, and avoid the opposed pains,” (Aristotle). The other readings we covered is about the state of nature by John Locke. Lock said in the state of nature all men are equal because we all belong to the …show more content…
Executives have the power to command or order something, this implies to any other commanding officers or high ranking officials in the office. These people have the power to command what they want to be done. That means by ordering cold red Commander Jessup was not wrong because he was doing his job. The only problem is that he did not consider the consequences and he did not realize that what he was doing is wrong. In his speech commander Jessup told Kaffe that “we follow orders, son. We follow orders or people die. It’s that simple. Are we clear?”(Jessup). This is just the indication that there is no way Lieutenant Kendrick and the two marines could avoid the order. They had to follow the order since it is what they
The book Black Hearts by Jim Frederick is an in-depth narrative about the 1st platoon, Bravo Company 1-502nd Infantry 101st Airborne Division deployed to Iraq in 2005. The leadership failures documented in this book range all the way from the general officer level down to the lowest private. LT general Ricardo Sanchez failed to understand the climate his command group was entering as they were deployed into Iraq. From then on the entire leadership failures continued to compound upon each other with improper time to plan. It is customary to have a six month lead time to have a proper battle hand off when preparing to take over an AO from another unit. To compound this problem, the entire time the 502nd was in pre-deployment training, they were preparing for the rigors of urban combat. In reality, they were given six weeks to recon their new area of responsibility and were going to a countryside crafted by the heavens for guerilla warfare. As Colonel Ebel said in the book, “It is not going to be an easy road. They are not even sure of what they have in the area. It just feels bad. We can expect a real fight.”
As Marines, we have a well-known motto “One Team, One Fight” that creates an image of strong unity that everyone regardless of rank or size plays an important role. Everyone is necessary to complete the mission. In this book, one particular Marine, (then) Captain Bill Barber, has a story that since has become a crucial tool used as teaching material today for multi-level Marines everywhere. This book serves as a testimony to Captain Barber’s will in the midst of extreme opposition and sets the example of the for mentioned mindset
Fearful of the outrageous threat of death against him, Kendrick complies with the unjust order of the Code Red due to the strict conduct that the members of the Marine Corps must adhere to, although the order was morally incorrect. Fromm effectively explains why Kendrick was quick to obey Jessep for the belief that “work cannot be done properly if nothing but fear is behind the obedience” (Fromm 127). Kendrick was not able to clearly identify a sensible morality, thus portraying the reality of Fromm’s beliefs that blind obedience is derived from corrupt motives. Fromm continues by discussing that obedience must be instigated by a formidable force of legitimate authority before the act of compliance can occur, and Jessep was the seemingly legitimate authority portrayed in the movie (Fromm 127). Michelle Sada, a Penn State Representative, would concur with Fromm due to her idea that individuals disregard the negative outcomes of situations prior to a decision derived from fear (Sada). Sada would likely agree that Kendrick’s intense military training was the source of his terror, because the consequences of disobeying the orders of superiors were of immense gravity. Furthermore, Szegedy-Maszak would coincide with Fromm that fear contributes to making decisions by Jessep possesses the ability to demand orders because members of
Powers, Rod. About.com, US Military. Military Orders: To Obey or Not to Obey? N.D. Web. 6 November 2011.
In the film “ A Few Good Men” the rule of law and fundamental justice were not followed by Lance Cpl. Harold and Pfc. Louden Downey. The rule of law was disobeyed as soon as Cpl. Lance and Pfc. Louden acted above the law. They committed a criminal offence and disregarded Pvt. Santiago's rights. Although, the orders were given by superior officer, Col. Nathan Joseph, the fact of the matter still remains the same, a crime was committed . Pvt. Santiago’s rights were not taken into consideration, which inevitably lead to his death. Although Cpl. Lance and Pfc. Louden clearly disregarded the rules of law and acted above the law, procedural justice was still exercised. Both Cpl. Lance and Pfc. Louden were given rights to a fair trial and the
In A Few Good Men Lt. Daniel Kaffee is assigned to defend two marines, Lance Col. Harold Dawson and Pfc. Louden Downey, in the investigation of a murdered marine in their t...
...ion and his misunderstanding about why he should and needs to obey it. By observing the behavior of the bystanders, the reader understands the rash outcomes of the situation which tend to be for the worse. The reader also can understand the power of people speaking against authority and how good outcomes can happen for pressing against unjust laws for what is morally right even if it results in consequence.
A story without style is like a man without personality: useless and boring. However, Flannery O’Connor incorporates various different styles in her narratives. Dark humor, irony, and symbolism are perhaps the utmost powerful and common styles in her writing. From “Revelation” and “Good Country People” to “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” all of O’Connor’s stories consist of different styles in writing.
Fromm explains that humans obey orders because of “fear, hate, and greed”, which, in the end, harms humanity (Fromm 125). Agreeing with this idea, Zimbardo states that “self-aggrandizement” is accomplished by “self-deprecation” of others (Zimbardo 109). Christopher Shea’s experiment also backs up the claim that people act for themselves. Shea would concur with Fromm that humans behave greedily (Shea). In contrast, Shea would not believe that people behave to put others down, which is Zimbardo’s beliefs (Shea). Jessup wished to express his authority by giving orders and allowing himself to advance even higher. Jessup harmed Santiago to advance personally; in addition, Dawson and Downey obeyed orders to gain approval from Jessup. Fromm may argue that Dawson and Downey followed commands due to fear. Zimbardo would believe that they thought completing the order was the correct action to be taken. The article “Human Obedience: The Myth of Blind Conformity” also connects with Zimbardo’s viewpoint. The article explains why people become passive and eventually deem their actions as correct (Human Obedience: The Myth of Blind Conformity). Zimbardo would not consider humans to be passive just blind to the truth. “Human Obedience: The Myth of Blind Conformity” would reply that individuals need to rely on their mind and not listen to commands. Both authors believe the marines’ actions
What does it mean to be your own person? In every aspect of life, people have their own morals and values, but what if the rest of society does not have mutual feelings? Does that mean staying on your own path or choosing the path that society has chosen? When conforming to society, there are always consequences, but when following morals of your own, there are also prices to be paid. The play, A Few Good Men, perfectly demonstrates how following the rest of the society can ruin a person, but it also displays how when one has their own morals, the consequences are foul. The play is about two military men who are being accused of murdering a fellow marine, after being told not to touch him. These two marines go to court, and their lawyers, Kaffee, Jo, and Sam, must hash it out with the military jurors and judge to find out what really happened. It turns out that they were fooled by the head honcho Colonel Jessep. These two marines, Dawson and Downey, were only following their orders, but what if they had not? Would their lives be any better? Probably not, but at least they would have been doing what was moral. In the military, it is especially important to follow orders like a robot, if necessary, but this leads to the demolition of the careers of two stepford marines. In a Few Good Men, conforming to society can ruin your career and honor; having different morals can result in great burdens. However, when a character knows what they believe in, honor will never be lost.
We see that the author’s purpose is to allow the readers to understand that the prisoners were not treated humanly, and allows us to see the negative attitudes the authority had towards the prisoners.
Accountability is a subject that ranges through every spectrum of life. From simply knowing your food supply by opening the refrigerator, to knowing the exact amount of ammunition a military convoy has at its disposal, down to each individual round. When we know what the situation is, and hold each person responsible for they're actions in the situation, that is the concept of accountability at its root. If we are not to hold each other responsible for each of our own actions and choices then we will never be able to correct problems and concerns, which will make us fail as a whole because the smallest individual action can account for the gravest of concequences. In this essay I'm going to show how important accountability is in the everyday life of a United States Marine. I will do this by presenting the textbook definition of accountability then dissecting it and defining it in my own words. I will then show you how the military practices accountability with everything it does; by applying a system that is similiar to that of checks and balances. I will tie into this the Incident that occurd in 29 Palms, CA on August 31, 1988, where the failure to have accountability of all the marines on Base ultimately resulted in the negligent death of one Marine, and the ruined careers of those who were in charge of him. Lastly I will go down to the basic level of the Marine Corps: the life of the individual Marine and how he can, and naturally does to a point, apply accountability to his every action, be it on or off duty.
During the Vietnam War, the first platoon (approximately forty men) was lead by a young officer named William Calley. Young Calley was drafted into the US Army after high school, but it did not take long for him to adjust to being in the army, with a quick transition to the lifestyle of the military, he wanted to make it his career. In high school, Calley was a kind, likable and “regular” high school student, he seemed to be a normal teenager, having interest in things that other boys his age typically had. He was never observed acting in a cruel or brutal way. In Vietnam, Calley was under direct order of company commander, Captain Ernest Medina, whom he saw as a role model, he looked up to Medina. (Detzer 127).
In conclusion, director Peter Berg does an excellent job at directing this film by implementing so many different and creative techniques to tell a story that might otherwise be incorrect. This real life memoir was presented to tell the tale of Four Navy SEALs that put their lives on the line to defend their country. The uniqueness of the elements and the way they are used brought out the realistic nature of morality, brotherhood, and honor. These elements showcase the mental and physical hardship that soldiers endure.
We have been taught that we should always follow our priorities, whether it is dealing with jobs, families, education, or faith. Ethical egoism teaches us that if our interests are any one these or something else, we should put it first because these are our values. But how far should we go in protecting our values? Is there a limit of how they should be protected? Am I doing what’s best for my priorities or for me? Although we should protect our values, there needs to be a limit and a focus of how I should protect my values with the best intentions. The film, Prisoners, presents this moral dilemma of torture through the characters’ decisions and emotions.