The Commander in Chief wishes all officers to be impressed with this truth, that nothing is more essential in military service than an exact subordination, and ready obedience to the commands of superior officers; that it is this which gives life and vigour to an army: that a contrary conduct must clog and impede every movement, and excite a spirit of discontent, disobedience and licentiousness among the troops; that in this view, the conduct of Capt. Friesback must be deemed highly criminal, and of a very dangerous tendency. [More]
Friday, August 07, 2009
This Day in History: August 7
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One can certainly understand the desire for unquestioning discipline among a traditional (read: authoritarian) military unit, but we should never lose sight of the idea that this is ultimately the selfsame attitude of our political masters toward "their" serfs. It is a dangerous attitude, and ultimately an "Only One" attitude.
That we can understand and even concede its utility in a military sense, does not make it something other than what it is. It is but one seed among many, of our present predicament.
(At least with a volunteer military there is some sense of it being a legitimate, enforceable contract provision, but it still strikes me as an ultimately Faustian pact.)
As David so eloquently said recently, decent, moral people don't need a f**kin' manual to tell them what's right and what's wrong. Exactly. Discipline by threat is of highly questionable benefit to moral human beings (if the discipline is moral, such will voluntarily accept it) and such effectiveness as it even has on the immoral, has only the effect of retaining an immoral man coercively. He will not likely contribute any more than necessary to protect his own skin, and then, only until he can find another means to avoid the compulsion. This is not the sort of man that "has your back", and one could argue that he is a greater liability to your immediate unit, than is your enemy!
This is a tricky point for people. In the desire to unleash the dogs to clean up the mess, it is hard to avoid the "I have become what I beheld" problem, and we should be mindful.
Food for thought.
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