Killing in a democracy
This is about the controversy over the military general who admits he enjoys killing people. I’m surprised that people are shocked about this.
I have shared grade school, college and work spaces with people who cared little for democratic tradition or the finer points of constitutional principles; people who feel that a fair trial is a waste of taxpayer money and that negotiation is “too good” for our hated enemies.
Some of my fellow citizens would have been just as comfortable being raised in a theocracy, giving up the freedoms of our democratic tradition as long as they were on the “side of right” and others were getting “the punishment they deserved.”
I am one of those who wish that, if capital punishment were not abolished, at least it would be applied with absolute fairness and dignity, not merely dignity for the condemned but dignity derived from a respect for the awesome nature of life itself and the solemnity of presuming to take it as a right of the state.
Capital punishment on a grand scale is the business of the military. Sure, it provides an education and you can work within it repairing trucks, filing reports or applying medical skill to the wounded, but at the heart of it the military exists to apply lethal force to our enemies. And while the military may recruit and attract people for many reasons, and we could say that nearly all of them serve with patriotic honor and provide at risk of their lives a service that ensures our own freedoms, I find it a form of neurotic disconnection for us to not admit the military provides an outlet for those who find great comfort in being handed the distinction between “us” and “them” and allowed to pursue lethal justice against “wrong doers” without the tedious bother of thoughtful self reflection nor the irritation of relinquishing swift judgment in favor of fairness.
I find it equally hard to believe the shock expressed in the media over the Abu Garib torture scandal. I felt that by the time we actually went to war against Iraq I could have walked into any bar in town and found 5 or 6 people more than willing to apply that same sadistic torture or worse to the “scum” who are our “enemies.” Why are we surprised that some of these citizens have found their way into military service?
I am one of those who longs to remind some of my fellow citizens that we are fighting for democracy, not just fighting “evil.” These freedoms that our “enemies” allegedly hate are enshrined in our constitution, the jewel of our government, of our citizenship, of our history as a nation. It is our constitution; not our flag, not current public opinion polls which shift like sands blown about by the winds of passion and manipulated by information campaigns; which defines the United States and which provides the foundation of our existence as a people, as a country.
The U.S. is not a team with team colors: red, white and blue; not a product with brand loyalty. We are something so much more amazing than that. We are a democracy founded on a constitution. This is the breathtaking achievement that we have modeled to the world.
...An a achievement whose apparently subtle glory is lost on some of my fellows in their rapture at the opportunity to “hunt down” and “punish” our “enemies.”
Why do I read that some people are surprised that our military includes generals who enjoy killing people and service people who take pleasure in disgracefully humiliating prisoners? Did you overlook these people in school? Did you not listen to the suggestions for the proper “punishment” of “evil doers” spewed out on talk radio and passed along at work?
It is beyond cynical to deny that citizenship and military service are shared by those with cruder notions of justice, even by those who think our highest goal is to protect the colors of the flag and not the content of the constitution.
And though I personally wonder what to do with these contradictions, I’m not the slightest bit surprised that they exist.
I have shared grade school, college and work spaces with people who cared little for democratic tradition or the finer points of constitutional principles; people who feel that a fair trial is a waste of taxpayer money and that negotiation is “too good” for our hated enemies.
Some of my fellow citizens would have been just as comfortable being raised in a theocracy, giving up the freedoms of our democratic tradition as long as they were on the “side of right” and others were getting “the punishment they deserved.”
I am one of those who wish that, if capital punishment were not abolished, at least it would be applied with absolute fairness and dignity, not merely dignity for the condemned but dignity derived from a respect for the awesome nature of life itself and the solemnity of presuming to take it as a right of the state.
Capital punishment on a grand scale is the business of the military. Sure, it provides an education and you can work within it repairing trucks, filing reports or applying medical skill to the wounded, but at the heart of it the military exists to apply lethal force to our enemies. And while the military may recruit and attract people for many reasons, and we could say that nearly all of them serve with patriotic honor and provide at risk of their lives a service that ensures our own freedoms, I find it a form of neurotic disconnection for us to not admit the military provides an outlet for those who find great comfort in being handed the distinction between “us” and “them” and allowed to pursue lethal justice against “wrong doers” without the tedious bother of thoughtful self reflection nor the irritation of relinquishing swift judgment in favor of fairness.
I find it equally hard to believe the shock expressed in the media over the Abu Garib torture scandal. I felt that by the time we actually went to war against Iraq I could have walked into any bar in town and found 5 or 6 people more than willing to apply that same sadistic torture or worse to the “scum” who are our “enemies.” Why are we surprised that some of these citizens have found their way into military service?
I am one of those who longs to remind some of my fellow citizens that we are fighting for democracy, not just fighting “evil.” These freedoms that our “enemies” allegedly hate are enshrined in our constitution, the jewel of our government, of our citizenship, of our history as a nation. It is our constitution; not our flag, not current public opinion polls which shift like sands blown about by the winds of passion and manipulated by information campaigns; which defines the United States and which provides the foundation of our existence as a people, as a country.
The U.S. is not a team with team colors: red, white and blue; not a product with brand loyalty. We are something so much more amazing than that. We are a democracy founded on a constitution. This is the breathtaking achievement that we have modeled to the world.
...An a achievement whose apparently subtle glory is lost on some of my fellows in their rapture at the opportunity to “hunt down” and “punish” our “enemies.”
Why do I read that some people are surprised that our military includes generals who enjoy killing people and service people who take pleasure in disgracefully humiliating prisoners? Did you overlook these people in school? Did you not listen to the suggestions for the proper “punishment” of “evil doers” spewed out on talk radio and passed along at work?
It is beyond cynical to deny that citizenship and military service are shared by those with cruder notions of justice, even by those who think our highest goal is to protect the colors of the flag and not the content of the constitution.
And though I personally wonder what to do with these contradictions, I’m not the slightest bit surprised that they exist.
posted by Sophia Pearl at 9:40 AM
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